PRISON VISITS RUN AFOUL OF 'BUGS' IN DRUG SCANS

People turned away after false positives

EDMONTON - Glitches in machines used to prevent people from smuggling
illegal drugs into prisons are keeping out family members and volunteers,
say prisoner advocates.

And an official at the Edmonton Institution admits an ion scanner provided
incorrect readings because it wasn't calibrated to take the barometric
pressure into account until last November.

The scanners are used to analyse swabs taken from the hands and possessions
of visitors. A positive reading for an array of illegal drugs means the
visitors can be refused entry, although this doesn't always happen.

Documents obtained by The Journal show that some visitors were allowed in
the maximum-security prison despite strong suspicions they could be carrying
drugs.

At the same time, false readings on the ion scans have resulted in some
innocent people being turned away, including celebrities such as singer Jann
Arden and writer Susan Musgrave, whose experiences have been documented in
the media.

Some who were denied entry are not so famous, such as Gary Garrison, a
sessional English instructor who was denied a visit at the Edmonton prison
in September because, according to the device, he tested positive for
heroin.

Garrison volunteers with a group called M2W2, a faith-based group under the
umbrella of the Mennonite Central Committee that promotes visits for inmates
who have no other contact with the outside world.

About five members of that group, which included an Oblate brother and
several retirees, were also turned away. The group later contacted the
warden, and the visits resumed.

Garrison acknowledges it's important to keep drugs out of prisons, but he
had questions about the ion-scan technology even before he was turned back.

"Certainly that question has been raised, and when you experience it
first-hand, that reaffirms it," he said. "Like any piece of technology, it's
bound to have some bugs."

Indeed, there were bugs, said prison spokesman Gary Sears. "We were getting
incorrect readings from the machine before November 2002."

The U.S. manufacturer of the Itemizer then sent up a technician, who
recalibrated it to take into account the barometric pressure, and the staff
at Edmonton Institution were retrained.

Sears said the machine is just a tool that prisons use to evaluate whether a
visitor should be allowed in, and other factors are always taken into
account. He also said the prison values the work of M2W2 in the
rehabilitation of inmates.

Maureen Collins, director of the John Howard Society in Edmonton, said she
has no problem taking action against drug dealers, but barring innocent
visitors creates tension inside prisons.

"A lot of people are being turned away and made to feel that they're
criminals," Collins said.

"You put measures in place and the goal is to keep drugs outside the
institution, but not so severely restrict access that you're unduly
punishing people."

Crowfoot MP Kevin Sorenson, the Alliance critic for the Solicitor General's
Department, said the prison system should be more vigilant to prevent
drug-taking within the walls, and the distribution of bleach kits -- used to
sterilize needles -- is evidence that Ottawa has given up trying to prevent
drugs from getting in.

But he still thinks prison officials shouldn't have total confidence in the
ion scanners, and should use them as an indicator -- rather than proof --
that someone is carrying drugs.