Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jan 2005
Source: Press, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2005 The Christchurch Press Company Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.press.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/349
Author: Yvonne Martin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

PRISON'S DRUG USE INCREASES

A drug and alcohol treatment unit at Rolleston Prison had one of the
highest rates of illicit drug use in tests last year, says a leaked
prison memo.

Nearly half of Kowhai inmates randomly tested in the four months to
October last year had taken drugs.

The memo's snapshot of South Island drug use showed that two more
Rolleston units, Rimu and Tawa, also had significant rises in the
number of positive tests.

The results pushed Rolleston's overall percentage of positive tests up
to 15 per cent from 10% the year before.

Paparua Prison fared better, says the memo to South Island prisons
regional manager Paul Monk, supplied to The Weekend Press.

Its total of positive drug tests was slightly down over the same
period, but was still more than 20%.

Dunedin Prison's positive drug tests doubled in that quarter to 20%
and Christchurch Women's Prison stayed at 14%. Invercargill Prison's
tests were 13% positive.

Nationally, 97% of positive drug tests in prison were for cannabis and
4% for amphetamine-type drugs. Nearly 5% were for benodiazepines
(depressants).

Monk said high prison populations had seen inmates placed in units
they would not usually go to, such as Kowhai. That skewed the test
results in some units.

"We have worked our guts out to get inmate drug use down and faced a
number of challenges doing it, such as the current muster pressure,
but we are succeeding and I am determined to get the number of inmates
testing positive for drugs down even further," said Monk.

The proportion of South Island inmates testing positive for drugs was
at an all-time low so far this year, he said.

In the latest figures, 17% of random drug tests were positive,
compared to 26% last August.

Overall figures for prisons provided a more accurate picture of drug
use than individual units, said Monk.

The latest figures (as at December) show the level of positive drug
tests as:

Paparua Prison 21%, Christchurch Women's 9%, Rolleston 12%, Dunedin
20% and Invercargill 13%.

Christchurch Women's had not returned a positive test since October.
Dunedin and Invercargill prisons had not returned positive tests since
last month.

Dunedin's high rate was the result of a small sample size (because of
fewer inmates) that was easily skewed, said Monk.

South Island prisons now have two drug-dog teams at work.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin