SPECIALIZED TOILET HELPS FIGHT DRUG SMUGGLING

HALIFAX - Some federal prison guards should be able to scratch a
crappy job from their duties next year when Correctional Service
Canada takes delivery of new gear to counter drug smuggling. The
official name for the equipment is "banned substances recovery equipment."

It's a toilet that allows guards to safely recover drugs that a person
may be trying to sneak into a prison by carrying them in their
digestive system.

Right now, if guards suspect someone is carrying drugs in that manner,
they direct the person to a bathroom to see if they will pass the
drugs. That puts the guards in the unenviable position of trying to
recover the drug-filled baggie or condom from other contents of the
suspect's bowels.

But the specialized toilet being ordered, called a Drugloo and
manufactured by a British company of the same name, should make that
process a distant and smelly memory for correctional officers.

According to Drugloo's website, feces are washed into an attached
recovery container by automatic sprays. Water and antimicrobial fluids
are used to separate and wash any drug packages. The package then goes
into a sealed chute and from there is dropped directly into an
evidence container, without anyone having touched the item.

The company says the toilets protect employees from the threat of
disease or contamination while respecting the rights of the person
being detained.

It also prevents someone from flushing the evidence
away.

Correctional Service Canada is expected to have the toilets by
March.

Spokeswoman Caroline McNicoll said drugs inside prisons have serious
impacts, including violent criminal behaviour, interference with
programs for inmates and the spread of disease.

"The detection of contraband, especially drugs, is a serious challenge
for security staff, in part due to the number of persons who enter and
leave an institution during any given time period," she said.

McNicoll didn't have statistics on the number of people charged or the
amount of drugs seized at the country's federal jails, but said
cannabis products such as marijuana and hashish are seized most often.

The toilets will be installed in eight Canadian prisons from Quebec to
British Columbia, and the tender documents include the option for up
to six more units.