Eliminating Drugs
in Institutions:
Enhancing Safety and Security

BY Michaela Rodrigue, Communications Advisor

---

CSC is set to launch a series of security enhancements geared to improving staff and offender safety through targeted, specific improvements to reduce the flow of drugs into institutions.

---

Chris Price is leading the Transformation Team’s efforts to address the Review Panel’s recommendations regarding eliminating drugs within CSC’s operational units. “I think it’s a really exciting time. In terms of where we’ll be in a few years, we’ll be miles ahead. It’s fantastic,” Price said during an interview about his role with the Transformation Team.

The flow of illegal drugs into federal prisons is prevented by the use of highly trained dog handlers and their canine counterparts.

As a former warden and most recently Director General of Security at National Headquarters, he is excited about the potential to make real and significant improvements to safety and security. “As DG I often needed to focus on day-to-day operations,” Price says. Working on the Transformation Team, Price is now able to conduct longer-term planning.

The Report included 12 recommendations specifically geared to enhancing safety and security at each of CSC’s operational units. However, the main focus in this area is the elimination of drugs from prisons. While drugs are a problem for correctional institutions around the world, Panel members said the presence of illicit drugs in a federal penitentiary is not only unacceptable, but also results in a dangerous environment for staff and offenders.

“When you don’t have drugs in institutions, you’re far safer,” Price explains. “I firmly believe having spent 20 years in institutions that illicit drugs lead to violence.”

The Transformation Team responded quickly in making plans to enhance CSC’s security measures to stop the entry of illicit drugs into penitentiaries. In fact, Price says there are a number of concrete steps CSC can take to reinforce and improve its security measures within a short time frame — “quick wins” — which will make a real difference.

“When you don’t have drugs in institutions, you’re far safer,” Price explains. “I firmly believe having spent 20 years in institutions that illicit drugs lead to violence.”

First off, CSC plans to enhance its use of drug detection dogs both at principal entrances and throughout the institutions. CSC has secured funding that will increase the number of detector dog teams from 46 to 126.

“Offenders are going to see the detector dogs in cells and on our ranges and they’ll know we’re doing what we can to keep drugs out,” Price says. “I would also like to see detector dog teams at every major inmate event involving visitors that the institutions hold.”

The increased use of detector dogs will be an important component of heightened security at principal entrances. Price is developing plans for an integrated security approach at the principal entrances that will have the detector dogs, Security Intelligence Officers (SIOs) and managers each playing a key role. In addition to these measures at the front entrances, CSC will hire an additional 165 SIOs, analysts and administrative officers over five years.

As well, everyone entering a CSC institution, be they a visitor, contractor, volunteer or staff member, will be subject to the same searching routines.

Price admits that tightened security at principal entrances may create delays for staff coming in and waiting to start their workday, but he says the improved drug interdiction will be worth any increase in wait times.

Other planned security enhancements include:

• Establishing a national visitor database that will allow CSC to determine if a member of the public is visiting multiple institutions or many offenders
• Requiring inmate visitors to schedule their visits ahead of time — this change will be implemented as early as June 2008 (many institutions already have scheduled visits)
• Increasing the use of yard towers in an effort to reduce the incidence of drugs being thrown over penitentiary walls, while investigating the possibility of using advanced technology in the longer term
• Re-examining yard routines to ensure that yards are searched for drugs before offenders are permitted out for yard time
• Improving use of emerging technologies (for example, motion detectors)

“Offenders are going to see the detector dogs in cells and on our ranges and they’ll know we’re doing what we can to keep drugs out,” Price says. “I would also like to see detector dog teams at every major inmate event involving visitors that the institutions hold.”

These plans have benefited from extensive consultations with unions, managers and front-line staff members that Price and the Team have conducted. “Everybody’s contributing. The response I’ve gotten has been really encouraging,” Price says. “We are hearing some really good ideas. To see some of this come to fruition is very gratifying.”

CSC is also working on a number of plans related to enhancing safety and security overall that are clearly linked to eliminating drugs. For example, an international symposium on “what works” in dealing with gangs and drugs in institutions is planned for fall 2008.

A future issue of Let’s Talk will include results and lessons learned from the symposium, more detailed information about the first quick wins in eliminating drugs in institutions, and how these accomplishments contribute to reaching our overall objective of enhancing public safety.  ♦