A sign for FCI Ray Brook is seen here in January 2024. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

RAY BROOK — The federal prison in Ray Brook has been on a lockdown since Jan. 2 after a package of drugs, cell phones and chisels, dropped inside the prison property by a drone, was discovered by a corrections officer.

The lockdown at the medium security prison is expected to end in the next week, according to the CO union president, but for the past two weeks families of people incarcerated there have been in the dark about the lockdown. This is the second lockdown in four months.

Darrell Pilon, the president of AFGE Local 3882, the union representing FCI Ray Brook’s corrections officers, said the football-sized package was covered in white tape to conceal it in the snow and contained cannabis, suboxone, tobacco, cell phones, charging cords, chisels and a file.

Pilon said the chisels and file are not typically viewed as weapons, but rather as an “escape item.” But more likely, he added, they are for “wall safes,” which are chiseled holes in the floor or wall, which can be filled with phones, weapons or drugs and covered up with a false wall.

Scott Taylor, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed the prison began “modified operations” on Jan. 2. During modified operations, he said wardens may “establish controls or implement temporary security measures to ensure the good order and security of their institution.”

“Ordinarily, institutions remain on modified operations in order to thoroughly investigate an incident and ensure the safety of staff and inmates,” Taylor wrote in an email. “However, with respect to the day-to-day operations of the facility during modified operations, all inmates at FCI Ray Brook have access to unit team staff, medical care, food, water and other programs.”

–

The drone and lockdown

–

The package was discovered by an officer doing fence checks on their rounds in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, Pilon said. Security cameras were reviewed and showed the drone flying in and making the delivery.

The lockdown is supposed to end in the “near future,” Pilon said — likely in the next week — but he did not want to give the exact date for security purposes.

Pilon said every corner of the prison is being searched and the search has turned up cannabis, suboxone, rope, charging cables and chisels. There is an investigation underway with the FBI and New York State Police to determine who purchased the package and who dropped it off. He didn’t want to describe their investigation in detail.

While on lockdown, visitations are suspended, inmates are kept in their cells for most of the day and their access to phone calls and email is revoked. Inmates can still send paper mail.

While under these modified operations, inmates can still work in laundry, commissary and food services, but it is more limited and controlled. Pilon said not all programming is running because of the severity of the items found. Currently, only around 20% of the population is out of their cells for jobs or programming, he estimated. These jobs resumed after a search of each area, Pilon said.

Pilon said there are currently 67 officers overseeing 680 inmates. BOP metrics say the prison should have 114 officers. Pilon said this is not adequate staffing, but it is also not uncommon with the “longstanding staffing crisis.”

He felt it is going to be a long time before this changes. Everyone is struggling to hire, and especially in a business with tough work that has to operate 24/7.

“Obviously, it’s more work for staff,” Pilon said of the lockdown. “You’re searching an entire facility.”

–

Family

–

The lockdown is also hard on the families of inmates there.

A woman whose son is incarcerated at FCI Ray Brook, who asked to not be named for fear of retribution, said she only found out about the lockdown when her son didn’t call her on Jan. 2.

“He usually calls me every single day,” she said. “I even messaged him that evening and said ‘Be sure to call me today.’ That always means I get a call, and I didn’t.”

She’s part of a social media group for loved ones of people incarcerated at FCI Ray Brook and they all shared similar stories of not hearing from their loved ones. The woman said for days there was uncertainty and wondering — she doesn’t know when the lockdown is supposed to end and when she can visit again, she doesn’t know what happened to cause the heightened security and she worries for her son’s safety.

The last time there was a lockdown, there was a stabbing.

Her son had only been at FCI Ray Brook a short time when in early September, an inmate stabbed another inmate 20 to 30 times near him. The first letter his mother got from the prison was him describing the scene and telling her about the lockdown.

The mother said her son is not there for a violent crime, and she worries about him.

“It’s upsetting when you don’t know anything,” she said. “Prison’s a violent place, so when I have no contact … ugh!”

She hates hearing about the poor conditions they live in during lockdowns, but it’s worse to be in the dark.

“I just feel so bad for them. I cannot imagine being stuck in a cell that long,” the mother said.

She imagines with the lack of physical activity, their bodies must be getting sore. In prison, she said, everyone gets punished for one person’s actions.

The mother said she visits her son once a month. She had just visited her son over Christmas and New Year’s.

“I don’t like him being alone for the holidays,” she said.

–

Drones a rising issue

–

Pilon said drones are a big national issue for prisons. His union is pushing for legislation to install drone-jamming technology at federal prisons, similar to their push for cell phone jammers. He said the BOP is receptive to the idea, but like anything in government, “it’s a slow process.” And often these bills are packaged with other not-as-popular bills to try to push the other bill through, which slows things down.

According to research from the National Institute of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice reported 130 drone incidents in federal prisons between 2015 and 2019.

“But that count is almost certainly low,” the NIJ report says, since the BOP did not adopt a formal reporting policy until 2018.

“After reporting instructions went into effect, the number of incidents recorded increased by 87%,” according to the report.

Since then, the DOJ has reported 94 known drone deliveries in prisons in 2020, 106 in 2021 and 212 in 2022.