TEAM EFFORT KEEPS DRUGS OUT

Stony Mountain Institution Attributes Rise In Drug Interdiction To
Coordinated Strategy

Stony Mountain Institution has a long history of stopping illegal
drugs from entering its walls. However, in the last year and a half
there has been a sharp increase in the amount that Corrections
officers have been seizing.

The year 2006 was a record year for Stony. Staff intercepted 75
illegal drug shipments, with a total value of $248,000 inside the
Institution.

Taken alone, the statistics suggest a sharp increase in the amount of
drugs entering the prison. But Institutional Search Co-Ordinator
Christer McLauchlan believes that a new, teamwork-oriented approach
has made it far more difficult for drugs to get inside.

"Before there were a few people whose responsibility it was to check
people and search for drugs," he says. In the last year and a half,
though, the Institution's staff as a whole is helping to keep drugs
out.

Stony Mountain uses a sophisticated ionscan machine to check visitors
for traces of drugs. If the machine detects a significant amount of
contraband, security staff may ask that visitor to sit in an area of
the open visiting area where they can be easily observed by staff.
Sometimes staff will assess that someone is likely to pose a problem
and might ask him or her to visit in a booth where no physical contact
is possible. And if staff are reasonably certain that a visitor is
trying to smuggle in some drugs, they have the authority to search and
detain that person, pending possible arrest by local RCMP.

"Our staff watch out for signs that people are trying to bring stuff
in," says McLauchlan. "In one instance, a visitor and an inmate
exchanged a long kiss, followed by the inmate taking a big drink of
pop. The next time she came, the [drug detector] dog looked at her,
[indicating it smelled drugs] and before we searched her, she admitted
she had something in her mouth; a balloon filled with drugs."

Cannabis tends to be the most commonly seized contraband, but inmates
will take just about anything if it will get them high.

Seized contraband for this month include a few balloons full of
marijuana, dozens of small joints, various pills, a handful of
ballpoint pen tubes used as pipes, and three older-issue C notes, used
to pay for drugs.

The officer displaying the drugs notes that it's rare to see such a
large amount of cash inside the prison, especially hundred-dollar bills.

"Inmates will take just about anything if they think it will get them
high," says McLauchlan. Over the counter and prescription drugs are
common, but sometimes pills that aren't even narcotics are seized.

"One inmate was caught with pills which he thought were drugs, but
which turned out to be diuretics, which are fine if all you want to do
is pee a lot," says McLauchlan.

Previously, one of the most common methods that criminals used to get
drugs into Stony was the throw-over. Basically, tossing a package of
drugs into the exercise yard at a specific time and place.

Now, however, the Institution has taken steps to make the community of
Stony Mountain a very undesirable place for criminals to be.

Additionally, the Institution's grounds are under 24 hour vehicle
patrol and anyone found in an unauthorized area is promptly escorted
inside and searched.

While the drug dog and ionscan sensor have done an excellent job in
the past, the responsibility for keeping narcotics out of the
Institution has been spread to every staff member.

Communication between different departments and additional training
have made a significant difference in the effectiveness of the
Institution's drug interdiction effort.