fast draft drug smuggling
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/13/2019 Fast Draft Drug Smuggling
1/5
Duncan 1
Rachel Duncan
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
English 1102
September 25, 2013
Smuggling Drugs into Prisons
Have you ever thought about the number of people who are put away in jails or prisons in
order to make our world a safer place? Do you realize that over 75% of these people are doing
illegal drugs while locked up? Have you ever thought how these criminals obtain access to the
illegal substance while incarcerated? These questions run through my head frequently; perhaps
because Im a criminal justice major. But generally, you cannot escape from the magnitude of
news stories on the number of crimes committed on a daily basis even in the prison system.
Logically, you would assume within the prison system, steps are taken to prevent further
criminal acts. Unfortunately, the reality is frightening. Its scary to think that prisoners have
access to get what they want from inside prison bars. On a routine basis, prisoners have easy
access to illegal drugs and are actively using within the prison system. If one of the goals of the
prison system is to rehabilitate, you may ask how this can happen.
How drugs are smuggled in
Everyone has a theory on how they think certain drugs are obtained in prison based on
their exposure and perceptions of this issue. Many are right, but there are some ways that will
surprise you because criminals are very creative and determined to feed their habit. Inmates are
obtaining illegal drugs through family members, random people and prison guards. Yes, even
prison guards. However, the process usually starts with a visit from friends or family. Shocking
-
8/13/2019 Fast Draft Drug Smuggling
2/5
Duncan 2
and creative ways the drugs are smuggled into the prisons include drugs inside soda cans, baby
diapers, and even in apersonslip when they exchange a kiss, says USA Todayon January 23
2003.
The prison guards are not as innocent as people may think they are. It seems even prison
guards are looking for ways to access extra cash. The inmates hire prison guards to access
whatever drugs the inmate desires and bring it into prison for cash. Some of these guards are
never caught; this was not the case for Erik Messner, 24 of Springfield, PA. This young man was
caught red-handed. Messner was allowing inmates to give him the contact information of their
friends or family members, and then would arrange a meeting,says Michael Price, from Daily
local news, in PA. Messner was even caught keeping the cash and a portion of the drugs for
himself. Messsners salary as a prison guard was thirty-two thousand a year. He took a risk of
losing his steady income for extra cash. Why would he take this risk? This shows me how some
people will do anything just for money. Additionally, it is an example that our prison system is
corrupt and unsafe when you have employees actively participating in illegal activity.
Another unique way prisoners are obtaining drugs is during their structured work
assignments. For example, commonly designated inmates are assigned road clean-up based on
their behavior. These inmates have the opportunity to travel outside of the prison walls to pick-
up trash along highways. In many cases, this is another way for the inmates to get access to the
illegal drugs they crave. There have been reported incidents in which the inmates family or
friend drives by and throw soccer ball, tennis ball, or even a clump of dirt out the window.
These have drugs inside them. Another creative example is the use of paintball guns splattering
the prison walls with drugs for the inmates to access. Needless to say, the creativity and
approaches are endless. So what actions are being taken to address this challenge?
-
8/13/2019 Fast Draft Drug Smuggling
3/5
Duncan 3
Technology
With the advances in technology, you would think that it would be easy to detect and
keep drugs out of jails and prisons. Indeed, over the years improvements have been made
replacing the drug dog sniffers and the human eye. Improvements such as scanning and
detection devices have been installed and are helping. Additionally, new security cameras that
are bullet resistant and will not break even with a sledgehammer, Power says, Criminal justice
director, at University of Columbia, have been introduced into many prisons in the northern area.
These cameras can monitor and record drug passing activity and will also prove helpful when
people attempt to break out of prison or start fighting. Some prisons have implemented the use
of the millimeter wave imaging system to scan visitors upon entry. This system is similar to the
imaging system at the airports where is in x-ray type of your body. This system not only helps to
identify drugs but also weapons. The disadvantage of the machine is it cannot detect drugs in
body cavities. However, on a positive note people who knew about the prisons having this
system are too scared to even try to smuggle drugs in, says Thomas Dohman, Graterford state
correctional Institution, intelligence captain. NIJ is currently funding to get a system that can
easily track if someone has drugs in their body cavities. Its beingdeveloped in Quantum
Magentics.
How an inmate really thinks
Reading the words theprison wall is not a boundary anymore,said Terry Thornton,
spokeswoman of Corrections and Rehabilitation, raises so many thoughts for me. The inmates
are not worried about getting the drugs they want. A prisoner Brian Plump, said himself, that he
sees illegal drugs every day. He also stated that if he wanted to get some sort of drug he could
get it in an hour. In my mind, this is absurd and wrong that a prisoner who is imprisoned for
-
8/13/2019 Fast Draft Drug Smuggling
4/5
Duncan 4
criminal activity can so quickly and confidently obtain drugs behind bars. The inmates are not
even worried about being behind bars because they can still the things they want to do. How is
this rehabilitation? It appears we live in a world where the criminals are in charge of prisons, not
the employees who are hired to do so. Their access to drugs such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana,
and prescription pills is limitless.
Most inmates are addicted to drugs before even entering prisons. When they arrive their
addiction doesnt stop, it continues because the access is not blocked. The drug use and
maneuvering to obtain drugs is one of the culprits of prison gang fights. Most gangs are built
around drug use. Prison gang members have control of the guards and control of the drug flow
who gets the drugs, when and how much. The fights all begin if they dont get the drugs they
want at the time they need. Most inmates dont have a specific drug they use; they will take
anything they can get.
Will drugs ever stop?
Based on thepercentage of drug related crimes, it is not surprising that drugs have taken
over outside and inside jails and prisons. "Nobody can convince me that there's a county jail, a
prison or any other place where people are locked up that there aren't drugs,says the former
warden of East Jersey State Prison, Patrick Arvonio, 20 years on the job.Over the years the druguse has tripled in the amount of inmates that enter prison or jails. Prisons have still not found a
way to keep out every type of drug attempted to be smuggled in. They may never find one. The
only thing they can keep doing is trying to get more and more new technology, learn the new
ways inmates are trying to bring in drugs, and making sure the staff they hire is trustworthy. A
troubling trend due to government budget cuts is the government is going to reduce the amount
of times the cells are checked daily because of cost, say Mark Freeman, POA deputy general
-
8/13/2019 Fast Draft Drug Smuggling
5/5
Duncan 5
secretary. If we dont have enough money to check the jail cells, how are we ever going to get
enough money for the new technology to put into prisons?