JAIL CHIEF TELLS OF DRUG SCAMS

ABOUT a third of criminals in the State's toughest jail use drugs.

And prison bosses admit they can only curb the flow inside - but never
stamp it out.

Casuarina Prison deputy superintendent James Schilo admitted a crackdown on
prison visits - the main source of drugs - would have disastrous consequences.

"Casuarina is a $100 million asset. I believe if we were to have
non-contact visits for all prisoners we would lose the prison within a
matter of hours - they would burn it down," Mr Schilo said.

The stark assessment of Casuarina's drug problem came during an inquest
into the death of remand prisoner Stephen Maslin, who died from a heroin
overdose in February.

Mr Schilo said there was a delicate balancing act between stopping drugs
and maintaining a manageable prison population.

Since October, 481 visitors had been strip-searched and 19 had been caught
with drugs.

"By not having barrier visits we run a risk . . . that drugs will come into
prisons," he said.

"But we have to weigh that out for the benefit of the other prisoners and
the community."

Maintaining family contacts reduced repeat offending and ultimately
benefited the community when prisoners were released, he said.

"We try to minimise the effects of drugs in prison and the trafficking of
drugs in prison but we will never stop that," Mr Schilo said.

Maslin, 41, a heroin addict with a $900-a-day habit, was in custody just
three days when he snorted lethal heroin an hour after a contact visit.

Most drugs were smuggled in by prison visitors, Mr Schilo told the inquest.

"The majority of times it is passed through the mouth by having drugs in a
balloon and kissing and passing it across," Mr Schilo said.

"The prisoner would then swallow that and regurgitate it later and share it
around.

"Another way is that a person (visitor) will conceal it and drop it in coffee.

"People might pass it across to a prisoner and he will slip it down his
tracksuit pants and put it in his rectum and get it out later."

Mr Schilo gave evidence that from last July to last month, of 411 drug
tests, 144 prisoners, or 35 per cent, tested positive.

Checked-by: Richard Lake