In today's world, the problems of drug access in prisons have increased dramatically. Visitors and staff are the main sources of the drugs because they have the easiest connections to the outside world.

Unit 9 Final Exam Essay for Criminal Law

The Drug Accessibility in Prisons

Heidi VanMetre

Criminal Law for Criminal Justice CJ230-02

August 7, 2006

In today’s world, the problems of drug access in prisons have increased dramatically. Visitors and staff are the main sources of the drugs because they have the easiest connections to the outside world. Even though prisons have camera, a large amount of guards, and strip searches of the inmates after visitations, the prisoners have become intelligent enough to discover the secrets of getting drugs inside of prisons. Not only are drugs in prisons a threat to the other staff and inmates due to the diseases that get spread, they also become a “threat to the community because if an inmate does not stop their drug habits while incarcerated, they have greater of a chance at re-offending once released” (“Drugs in Prisons”, 2005).

Many people wonder how staff and visitors do not get caught with the drugs they bring inside of the prisons gates. Most are intelligent enough to know that when entering a prison one will be searched and patted down. So to get drugs inside of prisons “people bring them In body cavities, or carried in by staff who do not receive a search, and put in the false bottoms of shoes and on the back of envelope stamps” (“Drugs in Prisons”,2005). A person will go through just about any type of measure to get drugs into a prison facility for extra cash and or ones own personal high. So how much does a typical drug cost in prison? In some prisons a “drug can be valued at more than five times their street value” (“Drugs in Prisons”, 2005). Inside the world of a prison, some inmates struggle to make it each day, or try to hide their pain by taking drugs on the side. If a drug is available, inmates will find the money to pay for it no matter what the price may be. Although inmates feel like they are better than others when they have a source for drugs, this becomes the reason for many fights that break out behind bars. In prison, “drugs because a source of power, criminal influence and are used as currency. Many incidents of violence can be attributed to drug trade activities” (“Drugs in Prison”, 2005). Being high on a drug in prison may have more of an effect on the inmate’s actions due to the hostility and hatred in prisons. Most inmates are dangerous and violent people and if they become under the influence of an illegal substance, along with the environment they are in, the choices and actions they may make could potentially be a great danger to the prison. “Drug use by inmates can also affect everyone’s health. Practices such as sharing needles and using glass tubes to inhale drugs can increase the risks of being exposed to and spreading of infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV/AIDS” (“Drugs in Prisons”,2005). If is bad enough that these drugs are getting passed through maximum security and not being found, but even worse to know that inmates are being so careless about their actions that very deadly diseases are being spread. Why would someone want to risk their lives for one simple buzz? Mostly it is because the inmate is already sentenced to a life in prison, therefore, they are careless about what happens to them or their body. The inmates once sentenced feels like there is nothing good left to live for, so they do not care about the choices they make. In 2000, “In a Russian prison about eight percent of their inmate’s injected drugs and a majority of all inmates who inject drugs share the same needle” (Sempruch & Gallagher, 2004). Drug users sharing needles is one of the top reasons why diseases are being spread throughout the world today due to their careless actions when using.

The country is trying to prevent drugs from getting through to the prisons and for the spread of infectious diseases, but prisons making it ten times harder to take care of these issues. “At the start of the decade, twenty-four percent of new AIDS cases in the United States were attributed to Injected Disease Users. A 1991 survey of over seven hundred thousand inmates in state facilities found that seventy-nine percent acknowledged using drugs, and a majority of the AIDS cases were due to the inmates being injected drug users” (McShane & Williams, 1996). If these inmates continue to use drugs, the facility is going to have a harder time trying to get the drug treatment to be effective. It is almost impossible to make a drug program work on an inmate if they are still using. A study showed that “ thirty-eight percent of men and nineteen percent of women reported drug use while in prison which may have also reflected the differences in access to drugs in different facilities, the degrees of addictions, or the differences in risk taking behavior prior to or during incarceration” (Sempruch & Gallagher, 2004). If so many people behind bars are using drugs, then what is the point in prisons? If the drugs seem to still be getting inside the gates, what can we do to prevent this from happening completely? “Many individuals have access to drugs while in prison, making it difficult for them to abstain from using during their period of incarceration or even to motivate an interest in participation of treatment” (Ammerman, 1999). As long as the prisoners have access to the drugs, they will never stop. When these drugs are brought in it is hard to make for a positive turn around being in prison. Prison is supposed to be a place that allows an individual who got off track back on the right track for the better. The rehabilitation and therapy is to help them become a better person therefore if there is a chance of release they will be a better citizen. But if the inmates have access to the drugs even on the inside there is no hope for an effective treatment for them. Will the access of drugs inside prisons ever stop? No, as long as visitors from the outside world are allowed to come in, and as long as the states keep hiring these people who they thought were trustworthy at the time the drug wars will continue to go on. “Many believe that locking people up in prison is not the solution to punishment because those incarcerated have even greater access to drugs then they do outside prison walls” (Sempruch & Gallagher, 2004). The drug wars in prisons are larger now than the drug wars on streets because more inmates and more dishonest staff, makes for more drug dealers and different types of drugs throughout the prison cells. The different ratios of men and women that do use drugs while incarcerated and what type of drug all depends on their different sources and the types of drugs they do. Some will only use certain ones that may be hard to find, therefore when it does come around they will pay top dollar just to get that drug. Many different types of drugs go throughout a prison, but most drugs that inmates test positive for are “marijuana and cocaine” (“Drugs getting into Prisons despite Interdiction Efforts”, 2001). The cocaine would be fairly easy to hide considering the form of it and how people just snort or inject it, but what is questioned is how the marijuana is being smoked in a prison? If many inmates are testing positive for it, then they are completely aware of what guards to trust, and who they can smoke it around. What is strange is that the scent can be distinguished from anywhere, so exactly how many dishonest guards do the states have working in their prisons?

Men are not the only inmates using the drugs inside the gates, but women are as well sometimes using them more than men. “Women have been known in some prisons to have higher drug usage than the men simply because most were incarcerated for drug charges and prostitution charges to begin with. Many statistics show that prostitution also involves the use of drugs. Women who have diseases and become incarcerated have easier access to a drug treatment that sometimes helps control their drug habit they had before being incarcerated” (McShane & Williams, 1996).

Most of the inmates, who use drugs ...

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Most of the inmates, who use drugs while serving a prison sentence, used them prior to getting in prison as well. But, there are still the inmates who only started to use to hide their fears of the prison setting, or to avoid what has really occurred in their lives. “Most drugs in prison are similar to or of better quality than those on the streets. Some inmates feel that if one is going to take the risk of bringing drugs in prison, they might as well bring in the best. Inmates usually sell only to people they know, to decrease the chance of discovery. They typically keep a portion for themselves and sell the rest.” ( McShane & Williams, 1996). Even though there are dishonest workers among the prison cells, there are still the ones who do their jobs effectively and are not involved in the drug trades going on inside the cells. The workers and the inmates who are involved in these drug trades take every precaution not to get caught by the honest ones who will report them. That is why the officers and the inmate’s usually only sell to the ones they know are involved in the drugs, and are not going to report them to anyone. Two theories have been put together to try and understand the reason of why inmates use drugs while in prison. “The first theory is called “deprivation model”, and it explains that once entering prison inmates are faced with major social and psychological problems so they use drugs to deal with the pain of being imprisoned. The second model is “importation model”, which explains the behavior of prisoners is not a direct function of the conditions of confinement, but one of pre-prison socialization and experience” (McShane and Williams, 1996). Inmates begin using drugs while in prison for the money and for the high. If they can find a way to make each day pass quicker, and not think about their faults in life they will take any measure to do so. Sometimes they even pay quadruple the amount for a drug in prison than they are on the streets but the inmates think it is worth it.

Visitors if inmates are known to be one of the largest reasons of why the drugs are getting in the doors to begin with. “Most drugs are brought in my visitors because they have easier access to the outside world and the newest ways to pass the drugs though prison securities” (Carrol, 1998). Visitors are known to bring drugs into the inmates in different ways. Usually the visitor is aware of the searches and the pat downs that go on before they can visit an inmate, therefore they make sure that the drugs they are bringing in will not be found. “Some visitors pass drugs to an inmate by swallowing a balloon or condom filled with drugs and regurgitating it in the rest room” (“Drugs Getting into Prisons despite Interdiction Efforts”, 2001). If the visitors swallow the drugs, they will not get caught because the drug will not be found. When visitors work in this type of manner it makes it a lot easier for them to get the drugs within the prison without being caught. Visitors bring the drugs in for different reasons such as it may be a profit for themselves, the inmate may be a loved one and they are doing it because they asked them to, or they may have even be threatened to do so. “Inmates may try to force visitors to smuggle drugs into the prisons, using manipulation, threats, violence and blackmail” (“Drugs in Prison”, 2005). The prisons are already aware that people may only be bringing drugs into these facilities by threats; therefore they have hotlines made to people to report this information about an inmate to them. If someone is caught bringing drugs into a prison, they will receive a prison sentence themselves because it is a felony to traffic drugs, let alone through a prison setting.

Although visitors have become a large reason of how the drugs are getting into prison, they’re still getting in through the dishonest staffs who are not abiding by their job duties as police and correctional officers. Part of the reason that staff members are becoming part of this drug war is because it is so large and bring in such a large amount of money, plus they think because of their job title they will never get caught. “The number of staff that have been arrested for drug use and or conveying controlled substances into the prisons over the past several years is so large that the system sometimes wonders if small time dealers have planned to work at these types of facilities to have access to the large market in prison” (Carrol, 1998). These drug dealers are working their way through the system to get their hands on one of the biggest drug wars going on in the world. Just because someone has a college degree and seems to have good intentions wanting to work at a prison, does not mean they are not working within the system to get their hands on these drugs. The state of each prison trusts that their workers are completing their jobs appropriate and are not having any type of interactions with the inmates other than watching their daily activities and whereabouts. In January and February of 1996 alone, two officers were arrested for smuggling heroin into a prison, bookmaking and possession of a needle and syringe, and for possession of marijuana” (Carrol, 1998). This being said, it makes employees wonder how they can trust their employers. Prisons expect to hire these guards to complete their jobs effectively and to watch for the safety of each inmate, but they are only making for a worse atmosphere when they are into the same illegal acts that the inmates are in. Society trusts prison guards to be doing their jobs and trying to prevent drugs from getting into prisons to help with the spread of diseases, but how can we trust the guards when over half are in the drug wars with the inmates? “The greater the use of drugs in the community and the incarceration of the large numbers of substance abusers both created a greater demand for drugs in prison and increased the likelihood that staff had access to drugs and or vulnerability that could be exploited”(Carrol, 1998). The more drug dealers that are put in prison, the more drugs are circulating through the prison. The accessibility also greatly increases with the more dealers behind bars. They more popular of a drug dealer they are, the more sources they have to bring in their products. People often wonder why a prison guard would turn to such illegal acts within their working environment. Some choose to work with drugs under the scenes to make a larger profit. They figure if they could make in five minutes inside the prison what they would make with a paycheck in two weeks, and have a little chance of getting caught they might as well do it. Some guards even start smuggling drugs inside the prisons because of fear of inmates. “Prison guards play a major role in smuggle drugs into the prisons. Some argue that the control of drugs and other underground economies affect the relationships between guards and the inmates” (Arrigo, 2003). There actually are guards out there who fear for their lives and their families if they do not do as the inmates are told. If they live in this type of fear at work, they should not be working in a prison type environment. If working as a guard they cannot stand up for what they know is right, and fear reporting the inmate so they choose to smuggle drugs in for them they have no business working in a prison. The guards are there to teach the prisoners right from wrong, not support their habits and needs while incarcerated. Even if a guard fears for his life due to a prisoner, they should follow the chain of commands in the prison and report this type of occurrence to the warden. “Officers have reputations for selling drugs, a fact that is regularly communicated through the prison grapevine. Occasionally, an officer will approach the inmate to offer drugs, but more frequently an inmate who wants to “make a buy” makes the fact known to the officer” (McShane & Williams, 1996). The inmates usually approach the officers because if the officers were caught approaching an inmate they should be in a lot of trouble. The officers are the inmate’s source of smuggling the drugs therefore they do everything they can not to get the officers caught in the process of making deals. The inmates become aware of who is involved in the drug smuggling by other inmates.

Different levels of prevention methods have been used in prisons for quite some time to prevent drugs from entering inside the bars. Different prevention methods being used is equipment like cameras, dogs, and scanners, and “the inmates they are subject to random drug tests, as well as regular searches of the inmates and premises”(“Drugs in Prison”, 2005). If an inmate tests positive for a drug they will be transferred to a maximum security prison, and will receive additional charges for their drug use. Many inmates test positive for drug use while in prison which makes their sentences even longer. The more intelligent the inmates get, the more upgraded the methods need to get to catch up with the drug smugglers. “When entering a federal prison, the visitor will be asked to sign in and put their belongings in a locker. Anything they bring with them will be x-rayed and may be scanned for drug residue” (“Drugs in Prison”, 2005). These actions are not taken by people they suspect to bring in drugs, but they are taken with every visitor. It is not to offend the visitors, but to protect the staff and all inmates within the prison. These measures have to be taken to prevent the chances of people bringing drugs into inmates. If the systems can help prevent these methods from happening, they will do everything they can to do so. With the greater amount of drugs being smuggled inside prisons, the “greater the use of pat searches of visitors, better use of staff and camera monitoring, and the restriction of contact visits for some inmates” (“Easy Access to Drugs in American Prisons Drug Policy News”, 2003). Prisons have to start taking these precautions more seriously because the number of drugs in prisons and the number of diseases are spreading throughout all of them. If there is a way for visitors to get the drugs into a prison they will find it. Eventually it may come down to no visitation at all for inmates except their lawyers. The inmates should be happy they have the advantage of having visitors, but so many are taking advantage of this luxury that one day they may stop the visitors all together. Then the only source of drugs would be the staff members, and hopefully in time they will be prevented as well. “The prison systems have come up with two new units specializing in prison investigations. One is called the SIU, which focuses on the inmates and cultivated informants. The other unit is the Internal Affairs, which focuses on staff, which is managed my ex police officers and worked closely with the state police. If an inmate is caught in an investigation by the SIU, they might provide the investigators with the information they need leading to the surveillance of a staff member by Internal Affairs. Just like information received from the IA may help lead to surveillance of a particular inmate or group of inmate” (Carrol, 1998). These units are used with the investigators to try and work their way down the pole of who is the main lead to the drug dealings throughout a prison. The more inmates they catch doing the drugs, the more of a chance the investigators will figure out who is the lead dealer to the drugs because the inmates do not want to face a larger prison sentence. The investigators may work with them if they are willing to talk to help find the main smuggler. Investigators have to work together to catch the main dealer, before they can work at catching each person using. As long at the source is out there and the inmates have access, they are going to continue using. The investigators are allowed to use drug-sniffing dogs and cameras in their investigations to catch who all is involved in the drug wars. “In close custody facilities, cameras are discreetly placed in the visiting areas in such a manner as to permit easy and close-in monitoring of all visitors. The rooms where inmates are strip-searched after visiting are electronically monitored to ensure that officers assigned this onerous task carry it out properly. The cameras are so powerful that one can read a paperback book being read by an officer at a table in the visiting area” (Carrol, 1998). These methods of prevention are taken to try and stop drugs from getting inside the walls of prisons. These cameras come in use to help not only with the dishonest workers, but with the inmates doing their illegal acts as well as visitors. The more powerful the camera, the more it will catch the inmates doing that the guards are unable to do.

The accessibility of drugs in prisons has gotten so large in the last few decades that investigative units have been made to try to solve these issues. Drugs are getting smuggled into prisons by visitors, guards, and other inmates very ones own high, the money, or because they had to act on a threat. A majority of the inmates in prison that carry the HIV/AIDS virus were injection users of drugs. Most inmates who inject the drugs share their needles with other inmates, which is how the drugs spread. Visitors are even going as far as swallowing a balloon or condom full of drugs and then regurgitating it once they get into the prison visiting area. Staff members are bringing the drugs in usually for an extra profit for themselves. The accessibility of drugs in prisons will not stop until the prisons figure out who the sources are that are smuggling the drugs behind prison gates.

References

Ammerman, R. (1999) Prevention and Societal Impact of Drugs and

Alcohol Abuse. Manwah N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Arrigo, B. (2003). Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Issues and

Controversies in Crime and Justice. San Diego El Sevier.

Carrol, L. (1998). Lawful Order: A case Study of Correctional Crisis and

Reform. Grand Publishing, Inc. A member of the Taylor and

Francis Group, New York & London.

“Drugs Getting into Prisons Despite Interdiction Efforts”, (2001).

Associated Press. The Oklahoma Publishing Co.

“Drugs in Prison: A Dangerous Situation”, (2005).

“Easy Access to Drugs in American Prisons Drug Policy News”, (2003).

Malinowska-Sempruch, K., & Gallagher, S. (2004). War on Drugs,

HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. International Debate Education

Association, NY, New York.

McShane, M., & Williams, F. (1996). Encyclopedia of American Prisons.

Garland Publishing Inc. New York and London

In today's world, the problems of drug access in prisons have increased dramatically. Visitors and staff are the main sources of the drugs because they have the easiest connections to the outside world.

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