Pubdate: Tue, 14 Oct 2014
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2014 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Jeff Beard
Note: Jeff Beard is secretary of the California Department of 
Corrections and Rehabilitation.

KEEPING DRUGS OUT OF PRISON WILL HELP INMATES AND THEIR FAMILIES

'Pay us $400 now or get dealt with." That's the ultimatum many 
inmates and their loved ones face after getting involved in drug 
debts to prison gangs.

The threat is real. The California Department of Corrections and 
Rehabilitation has seen the devastating effects when an inmate cannot 
meet those demands. These include suicides, homicides and prison 
violence, as well as violence inflicted on an inmate's family outside prison.

Every weekend, CDCR encounters visitors who attempt to smuggle in 
drugs and cellphones. So far this year, we've arrested 273. Many, 
unfortunately, are girlfriends or wives who have been forced by gangs 
to carry contraband. Out of fear, these visitors risk their own 
freedom to comply with the gangs' vicious demands. That's why the 
department is ramping up efforts to stop drugs from entering prisons.

The cycle doesn't end once a drug debt is paid. The prison gangs step 
up the pressure by threatening more violence and coordinate with 
outside allies to harass and intimidate inmate family members. 
Otherwise law-abiding citizens find themselves victims of prison gang violence.

A clear connection exists between drug trafficking, substance abuse, 
gang activity and prison violence. When unimpeded, drug trafficking 
challenges the credibility of the correctional system and prevents 
inmates from benefiting from drug and alcohol treatment programs. 
Continued substance abuse by inmates also threatens the work and 
living environments for staff, inmates and visitors and increases the 
likelihood that inmates will return to a life of crime upon release 
to our communities. And some prisoners don't make it that far - 29 
died from drug overdoses from January 2012 through February 2014.

A study released by UCLA in 2001 found a clear relationship between 
the use of controlled substances and violence in state prisons. 
Specifically, the study found that inmates with a history of drug 
abuse were nearly 35 percent more likely to engage in violence. The 
report also concluded the presence of illegal drugs in CDCR 
facilities reinforces the strength of prison gangs, leads to 
inmate-on-inmate violence and increases prisoner assaults on staff.

Another study in Pennsylvania found that between 1995 and 1998, drug 
interdiction, testing and treatment resulted in a 41 percent decline 
in drugs found in cells, a 57 percent decrease in assaults on staff, 
a 70 percent decrease in inmate-on-inmate assaults and a 65 percent 
reduction in weapons found. The state of Pennsylvania achieved these 
results through greater surveillance of inmates and visitors, more 
frequent urine tests, increased use of drug-detecting dogs, new 
sanctions for drug violations and airport-style hand swabs - called 
ION scanners.

Current regulations allow searches of all people and property coming 
onto prison grounds. We need to do more. CDCR has developed an 
enhanced drug interdiction program that includes ION scanners, 
drug-detecting dogs and increased urinalysis testing of inmates. 
These new methods will be used in conjunction with existing 
interdiction methods, including metal detectors and reasonable 
suspicion searches. Staff, visitors, volunteers and contractors will 
all be subject to new regulations.

The ION scanners are the same ones used to detect explosives on 
airline passengers, only these will be programmed to detect drugs. 
The dogs are Labrador retrievers and German shorthair pointers, which 
are being trained to sit and stare at someone they detect is in 
possession of drugs.

Visitors will have the right to refuse the ION testing or the dog 
search. But if they do, those visitors will be denied entry that day, 
or will be allowed only a noncontact visit, if a room is available.

If a visitor consents to testing and receives a positive alert by the 
ION scanner or a dog, he or she will be denied a visit or will be 
allowed a noncontact visit, if available. If the visitor wants to 
have a contact visit, he or she can consent to an unclothed body search.

It's paramount to the safety and security of our inmates, our staff, 
our visitors and our communities to reduce the flow of contraband 
into our prisons. The goal of the enhanced policy is to make our 
prisons safer for both staff and inmates and give visitors a reason 
to say "no" to smuggling drugs while helping to protect public safety 
by removing the currency of this dangerous underground economy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom