Correctional Issue of Drugs

Drugs in Federal Corrections

Corrections issues

One of the issue faced by the criminal justice system is offenders with drug problems. Research has indicated that almost 70% of criminals entering the correctional institutions have injected drugs 12 months prior to their incarceration (Ruiz, Douglas, Edens, Nikolova, & Lilienfeld, 2012). These patterns of drug abuse clearly demonstrate that many prisoners begin their prison terms with drug problems. If the problem is not recognized early, it results in demand for drugs within the correctional facility. This demand creates problems and challenges for prison administrators. Prisoners use of drugs results to increased safety risks, violence, corruption, and occupational health. There is also a risk of the prisoners resulting to extreme measures in order for them to access the drugs. They may commit acts of violence, or use threats. The issue of drug results in an increased risk of contracting diseases like HIV / AIDS or Hepatitis C (Chak, Talal, Sherman, Schiff, & Saab, 2011). Since the prisoners are in a closed environment, they will share needles and other objects, which leads to offenders infecting each other.

Description and evidence of problems leading to the issue

Demand for drugs within the correctional facilities poses security threats due to drug trafficking, and the potential of violence that is associated with trafficking activities. It is difficult to control or prevent the entry of drugs within a correctional facility. This is because correctional facilities have high movement volumes daily. The rise of organized crime and gangs within the communities has resulted in correctional facilities having gangs. These gangs are mostly associated with the transportation and sale of drugs, which they will continue doing once they are in prison. Rival gangs would fight for control and this could lead to massive deaths within a correctional facility. An increase in drug seizures results in reduced supply, which leads to a price increase for the available drugs. The offenders are forced to mount pressure on their family members and prison warders in order for them to access their drugs. The family members are encouraged to pack drugs when visiting the offenders. There is also a risk that the underground activities conducted by the offenders would lead to intimidation of family members, threat to the wardens, and violence.

The failure to provide drug rehabilitation facilities and services within the correctional institutions has made it hard to fight drugs within the system. The prisoners join the facilities with drug addiction problems, and they are not afforded any rehabilitation. They are most likely going to need their daily fix. The increased number of prisoners been convicted with drug problems has increased the demand for drugs within the correctional facilities. There is also a possibility of recruiting new drug users amongst the prison population. The fight for drugs is hampered since there are wardens who collude with the prison gangs and facilitate the delivery of drugs. The prison gangs also have access to illegal phones, which they use to request or intimidate relatives of other prisoners or wardens. Using their outside contacts, the prisoners are able to get a constant supply of drugs within the facility.

There is evidence to support that continuous raids and drug seizures as been effective. After a raid and drug seizure exercise is conducted, the number of urinalysis tests that are positive also reduces. This does clearly demonstrate that the raids are effective and should be carried out more often. There might be some correlation between lower rates of violence and drug seizures, but there is need for further research to demonstrate clearly the correlation. The drug seizures are conducted randomly, and prisoners are unaware of the raids before they occur, but the wardens who collude with the prisoners might pass on the information. This would lead to the gangs hiding their drugs, and the raid would only capture small amounts.

Prisoners with drug problems will not confirm their addiction openly, and they are unlikely to seek rehabilitation. There has been a continuous increase in offender numbers, which has led to overcrowding and this makes it difficult for the few wardens to identify prisoners who are using drugs. The continuous growth in the number of prisoners has not gone hand in hand with that of wardens (Exum, 2010). There is a shortage of wardens and training for the wardens has also been minimized. This results in poor staff morale, and demotivated wardens. They will not perform their responsibilities as expected since they are not appreciated. The increase and continuous closure of correctional facilities is straining the few correctional facilities that remain. The drug problem will not end if the ratios are not increased and staff provided with better working conditions and training.

Suggestions for improvement

Having a balanced and integrated approach to the problem would assist in eradicating or reducing the prevalence of drugs. Not all inmates are drug addicts, but only 70%. This number represents the number of prisoners who enter the correctional facilities with a history of drug use. Encouraging the treatment of offenders found to have drug problems would assist in combating the problem. Strong enforcement and prevention is effective in the fight against drug usage within the facilities. Correctional institutions should focus on combating organized crime and gangs. Without gangs and organized crime, it is difficult for drugs to infiltrate the correctional system. Gangs are used to intimidate other prisoners and wardens into trafficking drugs into the prison. Splitting of rivals to ensure that gang offenders are not housed together would also ensure that organized crime does not proliferate within the facility. Improved screening of visitors would ensure that contrabands are not trafficked within the facility. Installing scanners that have the capability to detect any traces of drugs would minimize the risk of drugs been trafficked within the facility. Sniffer dogs could also be used. The dogs are trained to sniff any drugs, and they would prevent or discourage drug traffickers.