By Joe Bouchard
It is easier to look back than to look forward. No matter if you are Nostradamus or Jean Dixon or even the modern-day psychic Sylvia Browne, making predictions for coming times can be tricky. This is especially true if your ego makes it difficult to commit an error.
No Nostradamus am I! Still. I can make two predictions for the year 2012.
First, almost every segment of the media will be clogged with the notion that the world will end on December 21, 2012, as based on the Mayan calendar. On the face of it, that is not really corrections-centric. But, as the year goes on, you will find many inside are impacted by this. This quirky notion will make ripples on operations.
Second – and I’m really not going out on a limb here – you will find lots and lots of contraband.
Finding contraband in a correctional facility is as inevitable as “forecasting” that the sun will rise in the East. Still, it is worth our while to make a few lists about what we will inevitably uncover and that which we desperately fight to remove from circulation.
While in this mode, why not belabor the obvious first. For anyone who searches for contraband in the coming year, you’re almost guaranteed to find the following five items:
1. Betting slips – This ubiquitous mainstay of jail and prison life can be found in any facility. Some professionals regard these as nuisance contraband items. On the other end of the continuum, they are considered the tip of the iceberg for some elaborate gambling scheme. Either way, you will find them.
2. Candy – As most prisoners are not allowed possess paper and coin money or even stamps for that matter, something will be used as a medium of exchange. Easily obtainable from the commissary like hard candy is a universal way of purchasing services and goods.
3. Tattoo gun – Although it seems that the general public is less enchanted with tattoos than in previous year, this is not to say that this visual display has been completely abandoned. However, tattooing is alive and well in our institutions.
4. Excess items – Many facilities have a rule that limits how much property a prisoner may carry. For example, the rule may state that an offender may only carry one 6 ounce bottle of hot sauce to meals. Many definitions of contraband include permitted items but in excess. And, as we all know, there’s always someone who is willing to test the limits.
5. Love notes – No matter where you work, there will always be a love note uncovered at some point. It may be an offender writing to an offender. The note may be an offender writing to an employee. So, to whomever the message is intended, the point is that the note is forbidden and will be part of what you find in the course of your search.
Next, I have a list of five contraband items that evoke two strong feelings. First you’ll be pleased and relieved to find these and remove them from circulation. Second, their presence in the facility is absolutely chilling. The dread factor each will vary with the others, of course. So, here are five items that you’re bound to uncover that drastically compromise the safety of the facility:
1. Institution made shank – No matter the level of security or location of the institution, the homemade knife is universally iconic in the fear that it induces. We must remind ourselves that shanks are not only made out of metal. They can be crafted from wood or plastic and still cause damage. With this, the chill factor is almost immediate because the use is obvious. It takes very little imagination to conceive of the particular injuries possible. The shank quite nicely summarizes this category. Professionals are very happy to take the item on circulation yet; it is sobering to find one.
2. Gum – A simple stick of chewing gum may not seem nefarious on the face of it. However, its existence in our facilities poses a grave danger. There’s nothing quite as unobtrusive as gum on a lock. Yet when a door becomes inoperable it is, in effect, a wall. If you look hard enough in 2012, you will find gum in your facility. Applied to the right lock at the right time, it is a very dangerous commodity.
3. Tobacco – In many institutions, tobacco has been forbidden. Neither prisoners nor staff may possess this inside of the walls. Still, because it fetches such a huge price, many are willing to risk sanctions, perform daring tasks, and even assault staff. As with gum, if you look hard enough in 2012, you will find tobacco inside your facility.
4. Narcotics – Like tobacco, there’s a potent Sirens song with narcotics. It is very likely that in the coming year some drug will be smuggled into your institution through the mail, through property, or (unfortunately) through compromised staff. The stakes are high and the dangers great. Contraband lords who deal narcotics are willing to fight tooth and nail to preserve their trading empire, thus increasing the danger.
5. Cell phones/Smart phones – I’ve saved what I believe is the greatest threat for last in the short list. In the last 10 years or so, the cell phone/smart phone is the most dangerous and increasingly common contraband one can find. The breakneck pace at which these electronic devices have evolved is staggering. Of course, cell phones are dangerous because criminal enterprises can be conducted from within the walls. In addition, cell phones have applications such as recording, storage, and film taking capabilities. Two issues fuel the terror involved in this particular contraband. One is that they are increasingly small and easy to hide. Two, cell phones and smart phones become smarter and smarter with each new innovation.
Perhaps the year 2012 will be like any year in corrections. One will find the usual contraband without surprise. Certainly, new threats will crop up in the world bootleg. With that, we will contrive new countermeasures in order to preserve safety. Happy 2012 to the corrections world. May your year be productive, fulfilling, and safe.
