Prisoners facing mail ban after surge in smuggled drugs in post
Prisoners may soon be banned from receiving mail after a major surge of drugs being smuggled into jails through the post, including in one case a child’s drawing masking a deadly substance. INTERACTIVE: WHAT WAS SEIZED
NSW
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Prisoners will be banned from receiving letters and visitors will undergo full-body scans under a dramatic escalation of security measures to stop drugs being smuggled inside.
The proposal by Corrective Service NSW Commissioner Peter Severin follows the interception of hundreds of letters laced with drugs being sent to inmates as a result of the visitor ban imposed to keep COVID-19 out of the state’s jail network.
It also comes after ongoing rioting and one officer being taken hostage for five hours last week by drug-starved prisoners — who are believed to have previously fed their addictions through visitors smuggling in drugs.
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In one case, strips of the heroin-replacement drug buprenorphine or “bupe” were hidden under thick coats of paint on a child’s drawing that was on its way to an inmate before it was intercepted by suspicious prison staff.
Other drugs have been left in hospital toilets for prisoners who are injuring themselves in a bid to be taken to emergency departments.
Mr Severin told The Sunday Telegraph he was working with the state government to secure funding for as many as 50 full body X-ray scanners to be installed at most prisons, but initially at maximum security jails.
The machines — similar to those already operating at John Morony Correctional Centre near Windsor — can detect drugs concealed in body cavities, while reducing the need for police strip searches.
As for mail, Mr Severin said he was exploring allowing inmates to receive a photocopied version of their letters “without the drugs”.
This follows 135 reported incidents of staff intercepting contraband in mail intended for inmates – up from around 22 this time last year.
Mr Severin said the coronavirus lockdown had flushed out the true extent of the drug problem, including the role visitors played.
Mr Severin said the Environment Protection Authority had approved the X-ray technology in prisons, although scans would be limited to around 200 per person.
“It’s validated that we do have an issue,” Mr Severin said of the visitor ban.
“I’m not putting my head in the sand to say it doesn’t exist, nor can I sit here and say: ‘Let’s go back to normal’.
“Our canine units, they are great, but can’t be everywhere so what we are looking at now is X-ray technology.
“Mail is another concern. We had a child’s painting where the paint was thick and had ‘bupe’ strips inside. I want to plug that hole as well. We want prisoners to have mail but we are looking at letting them have a photocopy.”
Last week, a Mid-North Coast Correctional Centre officer was taken hostage by a maximum security prisoner whose mail containing “bupe” strips had been intercepted.
It can be revealed the officer, who was taken to hospital for treatment to his face after being punched during the ordeal, later discovered a bag of contraband left in the hospital toilets, which had also been bound for the prison.
A union source said the contraband was to have been collected by a prisoner who had intentionally self-harmed in the hope of picking up the items after being taken to hospital for treatment.
The source said a “massive hospital drop” containing bupe strips, tobacco and other drugs bound for John Morony had also been recently intercepted.
“It’s out of control,” the source said.
“The inmates are desperate. The amount of mail that is coming in with drugs is up by 60 to 70 per cent. We are picking up copious amounts of bupe. It’s insane.”
Corrections Minister Anthony Roberts said the visitor ban had provided “a rare window” of opportunity to step up anti-contraband measures.
“Preventing illicit drugs from entering the prisons will allow us to focus on inmate rehabilitation and reducing recidivism,” he said.