(BOP) - The airspace over 20 Bureau of Prisons facilities is now protected from drones. As a result of efforts of the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now prohibits drone flights up to 400 feet over the 20 Bureau facilities listed below. Drone operators who violate the flight restrictions may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties.
The Bureau of Prisons is the first DOJ component to obtain temporary flight restrictions from the FAA. Similar flight restrictions over national security sensitive facilities like military installations and some U.S. Department of the Interior and Department of Energy facilities are also in place.
These flight restrictions support ongoing efforts to maintain safe and secure facilities and to protect inmates, staff and the public, as the Bureau continues to face security threats posed by drones dropping contraband inside the secure perimeters of our facilities (including illicit narcotics and cellular phones/SIM cards).
BOP facilities with FAA drone flight restrictions:
- USP Tucson, AZ
- USP Atwater, CA
- USP Victorville, CA
- USP Florence High and ADMAX, CO
- USP Coleman I and II, FL
- USP Marion, IL
- USP Terre Haute, IN
- USP Big Sandy, KY
- USP McCreary, KY
- USP Pollock, LA
- USP Yazoo City, MS
- USP Allenwood, PA
- USP Canaan, PA
- USP Lewisburg, PA
- USP Beaumont, TX
- USP Lee, VA
- USP Hazelton, WV
- AUSP Thomson, IL