PRISONS' DRUG PIPELINE TARGETED

A bill before the Ohio House would strengthen laws against sneaking drugs
into prison by imposing a mandatory prison sentence of up to five years for
prison employees convicted of smuggling. Currently, the maximum sentence is
one year.

Prosecutors and investigators say the move would make prison employees and
inmates think before smuggling drugs into a prison.

In 1995, 105 people were charged with carrying drugs into state prisons.
Twelve worked for the prison system.

Last year, 77 were charged, five of them prison employees.

``Inmates can find (guards) who will get drugs for them. They can sniff
them out like an animal can sniff out someone weak,'' said Rick Jones, a
former prison supervisor and now a Butler County chief sheriff's deputy.

``What a lot of employees forget is that once you bring it in, an inmate
owns you. For the rest of the time that prisoner is there, he owns you, and
will always have something over you.''

After a recent investigation, Jones contacted state Rep. Gary Cates, and
asked if laws could be strengthened. Cates pushed the bill to the floor of
the House.

Already, the state prison system works with the State Highway Patrol to
monitor inmates' phone calls, send drug-sniffing dogs into prison parking
lots and drug-test 5 percent of the state's prisoners each month.

Working in prison is a thankless job that becomes more stressful when
co-workers sell drugs, Jones said.

``When a knucklehead goes out and tries this, it puts the lives of every
employee in even more danger than it already is,'' he said.