SNIFFER DOGS TO COLLAR PRISON DRUG TRAFFIC

Solicitor General Set To Unveil Tough Measures For Inmates, Including
Satellite Monitoring System

EDMONTON -- Sniffer dogs used in surprise spot checks for drugs in
jails and electronic monitoring of prisoners in the community are part
of a get-tough initiative to be unveiled by Alberta's solicitor
general, the Calgary Herald has learned.

The province will use dogs in snap raids on provincial jails in a bid
to stem the flow of illicit narcotics that makes its way behind bars.

Drug dogs aren't regularly used in provincial prisons. That is set to
change, as illegal drugs smuggled into jails have been identified as a
serious problem by both Solicitor General Heather Forsyth and the
union representing provincial prison guards.

Sources told the Herald that Forsyth intends to roll out plans for the
canine program later this month.

The solicitor general is also expected to release details of a pilot
program that would see convicts who are sentenced to house arrest
monitored by satellite.

Such prisoners would be fitted with an electronic wrist or ankle
bracelet that would be tracked by a global positioning system, so
their exact location could be pinpointed at any time, day or night.

Over the past several years, the courts have increasingly allowed
convicted criminals to serve community sentences, generally involving
curfews and periods of house arrest.

A common complaint from provincial corrections staff is the difficulty
in monitoring these inmates.

Details of the electronic bracelet project are expected in the budget
March 24.

Forsyth refused comment on either initiative.

Dan MacLennan, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees,
which represents corrections staff, said inmates often prepare for
prison time by smuggling drugs in with them.

"They will ingest hundreds of pills or something, either by swallowing
them in a condom or hiding them in a body cavity," said MacLennan.
"It's part of the sentencing process for some. They head for
sentencing, know they're going to be going into remand so they bring
drugs with them."

MacLennan said electronic monitoring is a good idea, but said the
courts are loathe to sharpen the punishment for convicts who break the
terms of their community sentences.

"Even if they violate, the judges don't do anything," he said.

Laurie Blakeman, the Liberal's justice critic, opposes the
move.

Satellite tracking is an unproven technology and Alberta shouldn't
spend money on the equipment until it has been tested fully in other
jurisdictions, she said.

A better solution, she said, would be to hire more corrections staff
to track criminals.

As for the plan to use sniffer dogs, Blakeman thought that would be
fine and relatively cheap to implement.