PAROLEES FOIL DRUG TESTING

Cons Real Whizzes At Beating Urinalysis

Drug-addicted federal parolees are using fake penises and
laboratory-cleansed urine to cheat random urinalysis tests, The Toronto Sun
has learned.

While parole officials are always on the lookout for cheats, the first fake
penis kit seizure was made in the Toronto area last week.

It is widely believed cons who bought the kit from their California-based
suppliers may have loaned it to other cons.

The emergence of the kits -- which are worn around the waist and marry a
prosthetic penis to a pouch of battery-warmed reconstituted urine
concentrate -- will turn Correctional Service Canada's urinalysis program
upside down.

CSC reacted quickly when a parole official discovered a con using the kit
this week and asked its lawyers to look at alternative polices and procedures.

"We will have to develop appropriate protocols to screen for this device,"
said CSC spokesman Joe Beatty.

"It's like having to develop a new mousetrap ... there seems to be a very
significant market for it".

Effective urinalysis testing is crucial because it identifies which
parolees revert to their addiction cycles, said a Toronto parole officer,
who requested anonymity.

"The tests are usually done in a washroom with a parabolic mirror, so (the
testers) don't have to lean over the guy's shoulder, or look with a
magnifying glass," the parole officer said.

"The urinalysis tests are real killers for these guys, because they reveal
the truth ... if there is a way to beat it, they'll find it."

In recent years, CSC has placed an emphasis on releasing convicts to
halfway houses and such, placing strict conditions that they avoid booze,
drugs and other negative influences.

Cons who fail a urinalysis test have their parole revoked and are typically
sent back to prison.

There are two types of fake penis and pouch kits for sale on the Internet:
The Urinator and the Whizzinator.

Advertising literature suggests they are for people who want to hide drug
tests from an employer. The Whizzinator, made by Puck Technologies of
Signal Hill, California, sells for $150 US.

The prosthetic penis comes in four different shades of skin colour. It
costs extra for dehydrated urine that has been cleansed of toxins.

One of many testimonials on the Whizzinator Web site is from a man who says
he passed "over 100 random" tests.

Sprinkled among the testimonials are some harsh words.

"Shamefully, you have given loser drug addicts a way around (tests)," wrote
one person

Another berated Whizzinator for helping addicts cause tragedy: "I hope you
get your plastic balls sued off."

Employees at Etobicoke-based Clear Test, which distributes The Urinator in
Canada, would not comment.

Clear Test's Web site claims The Urinator can be used "hundreds of times"
and clients even "rent it out to their friends."

Calls to the Whizzinator's office went unanswered.

Det. Greg Sullivan, of the provincial repeat offender parole enforcement
(ROPE) squad, said many cons go on the lam after either failing a
urinalysis test or knowing they will fail.

He said the penis devices "give you an idea of the challenges" facing
front-line parole staff.

Sgt. John Muise, a Toronto Police detective on secondment to the Ontario
Office for Victims of Crime, praised CSC for discovering the urine fakes.

But he said CSC should act fast to protect test integrity.

"Drug abuse is a huge problem for offenders in prison and on parole and is
a major factor in reoffending," said Muise.

He said paroled cons should strip for urine tests.