NIGHT VISION AIDS ON ORDER FOR GUARDS

Prisons Will Also Get High-Tech Toilet 'Drugloo'

Prison guards recently found out they'll be getting mechanical help
screening inmates' excrement for drugs. Now they're getting night
vision aids to help with scanning dark areas of the property.

Public Works Canada recently posted a tender indicating Ottawa wants
to buy 150 pairs of binoculars and 150 monoculars for correctional
officers from Newfoundland to British Columbia.

The two federal prisons in Nova Scotia are the Springhill Institution
and the Nova Institution for Women in Truro.

"It's just one more purchase that benefits the operational staff on a
daily basis," said Paul Harrigan, Atlantic regional president of the
Union of Canadian Correctional Officers.

Mr. Harrigan, who works out of Fredericton, said the national
commissioner of Correctional Service Canada felt the night vision
equipment would help guards in a variety of scenarios. The idea was
broached about a year ago, Mr. Harrigan said.

"In dark spots, if we're in a situation where an inmate would have
smashed out lights on a range, it (goggles) would give us information
as to where they (prisoner) would be, standing or hiding," he said.

"A lot of our sites have a big perimeter," so the night vision gear
would illuminate that area. "Plus in situations of riots," they'd be
an asset, he said.

"They felt it would be a good benefit for the emergency response
teams. This union (fought) for a lot of help for changes for our
members. The commissioner's made a wise choice."

Mr. Harrigan said he wasn't sure how much the gear would cost but he
conceded that night vision equipment is expensive. Some websites tag
the price per unit at about $500, but Mr. Harrigan said the items the
government is buying would likely cost more. Ottawa also wants
maintenance included in the winning bid's contract.

A spokesman for Correctional Service Canada was not available for
comment Friday afternoon.

The Internet is filled with companies offering night vision
equipment, boasting of its thermal and infrared imaging capabilities,
among other attributes.

The union also welcomed the recent news that federal correctional
officers will soon have a new toilet system to help find drugs that
prisoners might hide internally.

The toilet, dubbed a "drugloo," literally does the dirty work for
guards who are tasked with going through the feces of suspected
smugglers. The new product keeps guards from having direct contact
with fecal matter.

"Drug interdiction is a big thing in the institution," Mr. Harrigan said.