PRISONERS HAVE EASY DRUG ACCESS, REPORT SAYS

Justice Department in Part Faults Staff At Federal Institutions

WASHINGTON -- Illegal drugs are easy to get at federal prisons, and guards
and other staff bear much of the responsibility, the Justice Department's
inspector general said in a report published Wednesday.

The report said more than 2,800 inmates tested positive for illegal drugs
each year from 1997 to 2001.

The national rate for positive tests averages just below 2 percent of the
total prison population, but the numbers vary widely among prisons and
reach as high as nearly 8 percent at a penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas.

It said 500 federal inmates have died from drug overdoses since 1997, and
the Bureau of Prisons has recorded more than 1,100 drug finds in its
institutions since 2000.

In the 123-page report, the inspector general said drugs entered the
prisons primarily through visitors, staff and the mail.

The Bureau of Prisons fails to search visitors adequately, and most prisons
have an insufficient number of cameras, monitors and staff to adequately
supervise inmate-visiting sessions, the report said.

Most drug transfers occur during contact visits, it said. Visitors, who are
not searched at any institution, often hide drugs in clothing, diapers or
body cavities.

During a contact visit, where inmates are not separated by physical
barriers, visitors can hand over drugs discreetly, exchange drugs orally
when kissing or put them in a food package or beverage from a visiting room
vending machine.

The report also said the bureau has done too little to prevent drug
smuggling by its staff.

"The vast majority of" bureau "employees have high integrity, but a few
corrupt staff can do enormous damage to the safety and security of an
institution," Inspector General Glenn Fine said. "When staff smuggle drugs,
the amounts are often large, and they reach more inmates."

Examples of staff arrests cited in the report include a food service
foreman convicted of intention to distribute more than 11 pounds of cocaine
in a Florida prison; a correctional officer accused of trying to take just
more than 1 pound of cocaine into the Beaumont prison, and other officers
accused of smuggling marijuana.

The bureau has estimated that 34 percent of federal inmates need drug
treatment, but the Inspector General's Office believes the figure is
outdated and too low, the report said.