DOC TO STEP UP TESTS FOR DRUGS

OKLAHOMA CITY -- All inmates in Department of Corrections facilities will
be randomly tested for drugs as part of a project that begins next month.

The department will test 5 percent of the inmate population for drug use
each month, said James Saffle, DOC director.

The urine analysis will give department officials some idea about how
pervasive drug use is behind prison walls, said Dennis Cotner, the
department's director of medical and inmate services.

There are 20,466 inmates in the prison system.

Prisons already do random drug testing, but the new push will be more
comprehensive and coordinated, Cotner said, adding that it won't cost that
much more money. DOC also tests inmates who are suspected of using drugs,
he said.

The mandatory drug testing came about after President Clinton directed
Attorney General Janet Reno to promote a policy of zero tolerance of drug
use and trafficking in prisons, Cotner said.

"He directed her to, among other things, amend the drug testing guidelines
to include requirements that states report on drug abuse problems and
progress toward ridding correctional facilities of drugs and reducing the
drug use among offenders," Cotner said.

Cotner said DOC has centralized records from its facilities pertaining to
drug testing. States must report the results to the federal government to
obtain federal dollars, he said.

Judging from serious incident reports from numerous facilities, drug use in
the state's corrections system is far from nonexistent.

On March 31, a construction worker was arrested at Joseph Harp Correctional
Center in Lexington for possession of marijuana, according to the report.

"Charges were filed for distributing drugs inside a penal institution," the
report said.

On March 10 at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester an inmate tried to
put something in his mouth during a strip search.

"The inmate was ordered to get it out of his mouth, " the report said. "He
did so and attempted to flush it. The officer grabbed his arm to deter him
from flushing it. The inmate put the substance back in his mouth. He was
wrestled to the floor."

The inmate eventually spit out "six small bags of a green leafy substance,"
the report said.

On Dec. 27 at Jackie Brannon Correctional Center in McAlester, correctional
officers were searching inmates after visitation. An officer ordered an
inmate to open his mouth and saw a plastic bag with a white substance in
it, the report said. The inmate ended up swallowing the bag and its
contents.

"I think they (drugs) are pretty prevalent in most prisons, " said Lynn
Powell, a Tulsan who is president of Citizens United for the Rehabilitation
of Errants. "I don't have a problem with drug testing, but I'd like to see
them test their own personnel to deter the way drugs get into the system."

The department is working on a policy to test employees, said Jerry Massie,
department spokesman.

Staff members determine which inmates on parole and probation must undergo
a drug test, said Stormy Wilson, a department district supervisor.

Parolees and probationers who test positive for drug use won't
automatically go back to prison, he said.

Some may receive an intermediate sanction, such as being required to do
community service, have more supervision or go to a day reporting center,
he said.

Inmates caught with drugs will get a misconduct and possibly additional
felony charges, he said.