Corrections_Today_July_August_2019_Vol.84_No.4

Correctional Health Perspectives

Fifty-four packets of Suboxone hidden in book binders from a “book dealer” are discovered at a correctional institution.

purchased from a bookstore, dis- mantled and drugs are hidden in the binding or placed between the pages. The book is then returned to the bookstore and sent to an unsus- pecting correctional facility. The sophistication of computers, printers and the general public’s access to a variety of packing materials limits institutions’ ability to detect and/or intercept drugs concealed in pub- lications within the parameters of most current correctional policies. Individual sources are typically not vetted, if they appear to qualify as a publisher, book club or bookstore. In an attempt to curtail these methods of introduction, correctional facilities are implementing enhanced correspondence and mail procedures. For instance, with the exception of legal mail, some wardens or cor- rectional administrators have the authority to copy none, some or all of the incoming general correspon- dence. Inmates then receive only a copy and not the original correspon- dence. This strategy is comparable to the empty police car sitting on the side of the road. Even though the car is empty, it is human nature to still hit the brakes and slow down. This

NC Dept of Public Safety via flickr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode)

Drug contraband is smuggled into jails and prisons in many differ- ent ways, including visitors during visiting hours, items thrown over perimeter fences or, more recently, drone drops. These drugs can be hid- den in eye glasses, food boxes, under the cheese on pizza, cell phones, body orifices and a baby’s diaper. Unfortunately, drugs can sometimes come in via staff. While there have been numerous creative ways in- mates have smuggled contraband into facilities, the most common form of introduction is still likely to be through the mail or book purchases. Some inmates and their associates have become adept at introducing drugs through the mail. First, this typically involves soaking or spray- ing the drug onto the stationary that

is being sent to the offender. Often, the use of ink, crayon, fragrances, stickers and other unsuspecting day- to-day material is utilized to conceal drugs. A card appearing to be written in crayon by a small child to a par- ent or a lipstick kiss on an envelope from a significant other may not be tokens of affection, but a method for concealing a synthetic drug. There are few limitations on the sources and amount of general correspon- dence, such as mail, which can be sent directly by an inmate’s family and friends. This lack of prohibition provides a great opportunity for at- tempted concealment of narcotics. The second method of introduc- tion involves concealing drugs in publications (books, magazines, etc.). In some cases, a book is

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