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Corrections commissioner seeks drone-detection funding and centralized intelligence to curb contraband
Summary
TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada requested recurring funds to expand drone-detection systems and create a Correctional Safety Intelligence Center; he said contraband drones and illicit cell phones are driving violence and operational risk inside facilities.
Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, told the committee the agency is seeing an increasing security threat from contraband delivered by drones and cited cell phones as a driver of violence and organized activity inside prisons. TDOC included $1,700,000 in its governor’s budget request to expand drone-detection capability and said the broader effort to create a centralized Correctional Safety Intelligence Center (CSIC) would be roughly $5,000,000 per year when staffing, analytics and camera integration are included.
"These devices are inexpensive, easy to move, and capable of bypassing traditional perimeter security," Strada said. He described a plan to deploy detection equipment, create a staffed intelligence center and leverage AI overlays on cameras to monitor activity and coordinate responses. TDOC said it plans to begin the work by shifting funds from long-vacant positions and that the department had previously used similar savings to cover contract increases in medical services.
Members pressed TDOC about contract accounting (an estimated maximum contract liability figure of $20,000,000 to $27,000,000 appeared in committee documents and testimony), how recurring requests align with short contract terms, and whether private prisons would be required to adopt similar systems. TDOC said it is piloting vendor solutions (Axon and Skydio were named in testimony) and that ongoing recurring funds would support operations and partially cover vendor services; TDOC emphasized that regulatory issues such as FCC approval for cell-phone jamming remain outstanding.
The committee requested follow-up on contract terms, capital-versus-operating splits for the drone program, and estimates for any costs that private contractors might pass to the state if required to deploy similar systems.
