Pubdate: Sat, 14 Jan 2006
Source: Hawke's Bay Today (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2006
Contact: http://www.hbtoday.co.nz/info/letters/
Website: http://hbtoday.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2947
Author: Bruce Cutler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

PRISONERS DRUGGED, ARMED SAYS MP

Drugs and weapons are increasingly being smuggled into Hawke's Bay 
regional prison, according to National's law and order spokesman, Simon Power.

Mr Power made the claim after statistics were released this week 
showing that from January to June of last year, 51 drug items and a 
12-gauge shotgun shell were confiscated from visitors entering 
Hawke's Bay Regional Prison.

The report shows for the whole of 2004, no weapons and only 36 drug 
items were confiscated from visitors to the prison. Mr Power said the 
nature and amount of material seized from prison visitors was 
staggering and was concerned about how much was getting through.

However, a recently released inmate of New Zealand's fourth largest 
prison said drug use among prisoners was at an all-time low due to 
new detection procedures. Max (not his real name) said when he 
started his "lag" in the 1990s, drugs were prevalent in all areas of 
Hawke's Bay prison.

"In the past whole units were getting stoned. In there how do you 
survive without drugs?" Max said.

"People use it for mellowing out and I was like that. At the 
beginning of my lag I smoked a power of dope.

"Speaking as an old lagger, a stoned unit is better than a drunk unit 
and blind eyes (by prison officers) were often turned, especially at 
Christmas, but it's really tightened up now.

"In the past 12 months drug use in Hawke's Bay (prison) has dropped 
dramatically. Now they're really screening visitors."

"Now visitors are screened by the crime prevention officer and if 
they don't like the look of you, you don't get in."

"It's still coming in, but it's amazing how much it's dropped.

Max said in the past drug drops had been made over the fence but that 
had become much harder in recent years with the installation of a 
large exterior fence around the prison.

"Before a game of touch rugby would be organised at a set time. The 
whole unit would be involved in the cover-up and a football got 
kicked over the fence from outside the perimeter. Usually full of 
dope but sometimes bourbon," Max said.

But the ex-con said the way most contraband entered Hawke's Bay 
prison was through more conventional methods.

"Ninety percent of contraband comes in through visits. It always has."

"Body cavities is the only way to do it really. The drugs get wrapped 
tight in cling wrap in a cylinder type of shape. They call them chargers.

"Women visitors bring it in vaginally. There are usually a couple of 
guards in the visitation room but there are around 15 couples and 
most visitations last for two hours. You pick the moment (to pass the 
drugs)." "They've got the drug dog coming in, but he can't be everywhere."

Max said perfumes were also sometimes used to confuse the drug dog.

"I don't think it (drugs in prisons) will be ever stopped totally," Max said.

Max said weapons in Hawke's Bay prison were most often produced in 
the prison engineering shop, with knuckle-dusters, knives and patus 
(clubs) being most common.

Contraband cellphones were also more prevalent in the past at Hawke's 
Bay prison he said.

"When I was in Unit four, before it became the segregated unit, I was 
in with the worst of them and I counted 15 cellphones on 60 
prisoners," Max said.

"I've seen some wicked stuff getting set up on cellphones inside such 
as hits, standover of families outside for drug debts inside, prison 
riots, drug drops.

"What they (prison authorities) are doing is definitely working 
because the number of phones has dropped."

And Max laughs when asked to name the most unusual item of contraband 
that he saw smuggled into Hawke's Bay prison during his lag.

"It was a blow-up doll called Candy. That was way back."

General manager of Hawke's Bay Regional Prison, Peter Grant, said 
drug-testing on prisoners showed the contraband detection measures in 
place were working.

"In the past over 30 percent of the inmates tested for drugs showed a 
positive result. At our last count on random samples show 16 percent 
positive," Mr Grant said.

"It's still unacceptably high but we are pleased it has dropped.

Mr Grant said the most common form of drugs confiscated from visitors 
and detected in prisoner urine tests were cannabis and amphetamine.

"A lot of the guys in here come here because of offences committed 
while using drugs or alcohol and that dependency doesn't stop when 
they come here," Mr Grant said.

"I think it would be unrealistic to ever think we will beat it 
completely. These guys (inmates) spend 24 hours a day trying to find 
ways to get it in (the prison).

"Generally people bring it in using body cavities. Women might wear 
floppy hats and hide it under that or put it in their hair in visits.

"We've even picked up people with syringes in a bra."

Mr Grant said in recent months, surveillance operations of the prison 
perimeter had detected five people attempting "throwovers" of 
contraband objects and 15 cell phones had been confiscated from 
prisoners through searches.

Mr Grant said when prisoners were detected using drugs they had 
restricted access in visits where future visits were held in a 
non-contact booth for a period lasting between three and 12 months

He said a prisoner can only apply to be visited by three adults at a 
time and any contraband detected on visitors results in a suspension 
of visitation rights or a complete ban.

Mr Grant said a new Visitation Centre would be built at the prison by 
2007 which would be staffed by specialist prison officers who were 
trained in detection and surveillance techniques.

"We will never be complacent about this," Mr Grant said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom