REALITY OF JAIL

It should come as no surprise that inmates have higher levels of HIV
and hepatitis C infection than the general community ("Drugs in prison
lift HIV odds", Herald, July 5). Over 80 per cent of people who come
to jail are there because of drug-related crime. A more comparable
group in the community would be intravenous drug users.

The NSW prison system has been recognised by the World Health
Organisation as a world leader for its services and programs to
prevent the spread of communicable diseases in jails. The Department
of Corrective Services runs a variety of programs to reduce the risk
to both inmates and staff. In fact, many prisoners are better educated
about the risks while in jail than when they are in the community.

NSW has the only prison methadone program in Australia and one of the
few in the world. In 1992, the department introduced a special unit
for inmates with infectious diseases which provides intensive
three-month education and support programs. We provide liquid bleach
to inmates and staff and most recently have introduced condoms into
all NSW jails to reduce the spread of disease.

In taking these precautions, we are facing the reality that, in common
with prisons around the world, illicit drugs do find their way inside
no matter how stringent the steps to prevent this happening.
Nevertheless, our policy of zero tolerance of drugs and needles in the
system makes sense for the safety of prison staff and inmates and the
health of the community.

This is an issue we take very seriously and the low incidence of
infections in the prison system is an indication that our strategies
are working.

DR LEO KELIHER
Commissioner
NSW Department of Corrective Services
Sydney