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“When visitation stopped and Inspect 2 Protect was in place, why was there still a large number of drugs coming in?” said one man who was released from prison in December. Over the same period, prison prosecutors said the number of people charged criminally for contraband substances in prison increased by 10%.įor many people living and working behind bars, the numbers confirm what they’ve suspected all along - the persistent contraband problem is driven mostly by staff. Prisoners disciplined for drugs increased by 18%, from 1,666 in 2019 to 1,960 in 2020. Last year, that happened 2,297 times even though the number of people incarcerated decreased by about 16%. Two years ago, officers found drugs in common areas 2,301 times, according to agency data. In the year since Texas initiated its anti-contraband program, and without any visits from family or friends, the number of reported drug incidents in prisons stayed steady, and prisoners were disciplined for drugs more often. In Colorado, prison officials tried banning greeting cards in early 2018, but walked back the policy after a prisoner threatened to sue. Though there is little evidence showing whether policies cracking down on mail are effective, prisons in Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Utah have all tried some variation of them. In promoting the program, the prison agency said that it flagged roughly 3,500 letters each month in 2019 - about 0.5% of prisoner mail - as having an “uninspectable or suspicious substance.” Since stickers and perfume count as suspicious, too, it’s unclear how much of the mail actually contained drugs.
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While even a cursory check can block bricks of cocaine from coming in through the mail, detecting paper soaked in liquid K2 or meth could be much harder, they said. Officials said these rules would make it harder for outsiders to mail in drug-laced paper disguised by thick greeting card stock or elaborate paint. So no more store-bought greeting cards, no kids’ artwork, no glitter and no glue.
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Inspect 2 Protect meant more drug-sniffing dogs on visiting days and stricter rules that banned mail except for plain white paper and a few photographs. Shortly before the pandemic halted all prison visitation last March, the prison system rolled out its latest anti-contraband program. Afterward, the agency bought call jammers and eventually started drug-testing the staff in the hope of cutting down on smuggling. Rick Perry put 112 prisons on lockdown in 2008 after a man on death row called a state senator from a cellphone he said was smuggled in by a guard. A perennial problemįrom shanks to phones to drugs, contraband of all types has been a perennial source of consternation for Texas prison officials. Texas prison officers start at a salary of about $36,000 the maximum is less than $45,000. But the spokesperson for the agency reported that it ousted 15 staff members over the incident, including 12 guards, and that a criminal investigation was ongoing.Ĭontraband “is going to come in one way or the other, and dirty staff is a big problem,” said Jeff Ormsby, who heads one of the state’s correctional officer unions.
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So far, prosecutors said, no staff or prisoners have been criminally charged because many of the contraband items turned up in common areas and couldn’t be tied to any one person. The searches turned up what prosecutors described as an “unusually large amount of drugs” including K2, cocaine, meth and items clearly too bulky to mail in - like marijuana, bags of pills, jars of alcohol and 74 cellphones. He said people have found new ways around the system, like by pretending mail is from lawyers, blocking prison inspection.Īt the Stiles Unit in Beaumont, officials locked down the whole prison to search for contraband in late January, nearly a year after the mailroom restrictions took effect. In the last year, Desel said drug-sniffing dogs and staff have stopped more suspicious mail and fewer prisoners have come up positive in random drug tests. Still, prison officials believe their new program to fight contraband is working. “Just like any organization, there are those that decide to break with the ranks and not uphold expected values.” “The vast majority of TDCJ employees are dedicated individuals who strive to uphold agency values,” he added. In a written statement, he cited drones, mail and employees as some of the routes for drugs to enter prisons. “The campaign to battle contraband is constantly evolving,” said Jeremy Desel, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Officers largely stopped searching each other at the front gate in part because of safety measures, and in part because they are too short-handed to do so anyway. Half a dozen other staffers also said that the pandemic has made drug smuggling easier.