(The Center Square) – A proposal from the Tennessee Department of Corrections would create an artificial intelligence center that could monitor the 6,500 cameras in state prisons.
Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada is pitching the Centralized Security Intelligence Center that would cost the state $5 million but help law enforcement deter crime.
“It will create a unified platform for agency-wide collaboration to combat organized criminal activity that operates across the institution and geographical boundaries,” Strada told the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Monday. “By centralized intelligence, we enhance our ability to identify patterns, disrupt contraband networks and coordinate with state and federal law enforcement partners to address a broader, statewide, organized crime threat.”
The center could also help prison officials with drones. The unmanned aerial vehicles have become a way for prisoners to receive illegal cellphones, which are not just a threat in institutions but to Tennessee communities, Strada said.
“These devices allow inmates to communicate in unmonitored and non-secure ways,” Strada said. “In many cases, they are used to coordinate criminal activity, intimidate witnesses and attempt to manipulate their own family members.”
The Corrections Department is asking for a separate $1.7 million allocation in the fiscal year 2027 budget to expand detection technology.
Federal regulations prohibit prison officials from shooting down the drones.
Republican Tennessee state Sen. Tom Hatcher introduced a bill that would make it a crime to fly a drone over state prisons. The bill is in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The House version of the bill, by Friendsville Republican Tom Stinnett, is in a House Criminal Justice subcommittee.
Drones are not just an issue in Tennessee prisons. Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety in December that drones are plaguing prisons there.
“They’re flying tools, dental saws, stuff like that to continue to have access,” Oliver said. “Once we put a chokehold on one area, they’ll find another way to get in.”
