A drone is being flown within a 4-mile radius of the beleaguered Fulton County Jail to prevent other unauthorized drones from getting close enough to drop contraband, said Sheriff Patrick Labat during a demonstration at the facility on Thursday.
He said he thinks the Fulton County Jail is the first in the country to use the sleek, quadcopter-style drone made by Atlanta-based Flock Safety in this way. It was reportedly funded by the nonprofit Fulton County Sheriff’s Foundation, not taxpayer dollars, but Labat declined to disclose the dollar amount.
“We’ve had everything from chicken sandwiches to cigarettes to really just tools to take the jail apart delivered via contraband, and most of that came through drone drops,” Labat said. “Now, if it were up to me, I’d take a shotgun, and I’d shoot them all down … but we certainly can’t do that right now.”
According to the sheriff, in the first half of 2025 alone, the jail recorded nearly 300 unauthorized drone flights in its airspace. Not all delivered contraband, but Labat said more than half do, contributing to the unsafe conditions inside his jail…