Pubdate: Tue, 09 Nov 1999 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 1999, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada Fax: (780) 468-0139 Website: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonSun/ Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/home.html Author: Stephanie Rubec MP SAYS FEDS LET DRUGS FUEL JAIL GANGS OTTAWA -- The federal government's refusal to crack down on drugs in jails is fueling the formation of new gangs behind bars, charges Reform MP Randy White. White said a recent report by Corrections Canada on the hike in gang activity within prison walls is proof the federal government hasn't taken any concrete steps to declare war on gangs and drugs in jail. "We've got to get away from the feeling that the inmates' rights prevail above the needs of a prison to operate soundly," White said. Corrections' recent Productivity Report found 48 different gangs thriving in federal prisons, some of them created behind bars. Of those, 43 are also found outside jail - almost half of them brought into society by freed inmates, the report found. About 8.1% of the prison population are gang members, with the most popular groups being bikers, aboriginal outlaws and street gangs, the report says. White said if Ottawa cracked down on drugs in prison, it would eliminate the main reason gangs are created. "It takes away a lot of the profit motive for gangs, for one thing," he said. White said apart from crushing the lucrative drug-selling business, prisons should isolate gang members or transfer them to other jails to break up the membership. - --- MAP posted-by: manemez j lovitto