It is not easy to declare what is the most important training that a corrections professional can receive. However, it is likely that contraband awareness training is within the top ten.
Some may wonder: What is the big deal about a few small items that are not permitted in the prison? Can little things like an extra cigarette or a stick of chewing gum make a difference?
I offer this as an answer: From the tiny acorn grows the mighty oak.
For enterprising prisoners, trade of illicit goods and performance of prohibited services represent the building blocks for power. With planning and work, the smallest gambling enterprise has the potential to develop into a large trading empire inside the walls. Such economic capacity can procure weapons, narcotics, loyalty, and outside help. All of those can quickly destabilize the security of any institution.
And contraband awareness training is not just for custody staff. The impact of contraband on institutional safety is so far reaching that contraband awareness training should be attended by all corrections staff. This includes not only custody, but also programs, treatment, support, and administration.
Once everyone working within a facility becomes knowledgeable of the many nuances of illicit trade, only then can we begin to really combat it, contributing to the overall safety of staff, prisoners and the public.
Building a training foundation
It is a fact that enterprising prisoners have ample time at their disposal to concoct smuggling schemes. To counter this and the potential danger that it brings, corrections professionals need to place more emphasis contraband control education.
It is one thing to find a cache of betting slips and stamps. And while it is important to remove those items from circulation, it is more important to trace the source and discover the mode of trade. That knowledge can slow future commerce and eliminate the danger that accompanies it.
Without a framework of theories and conceptual models, contraband control is merely a game of chance without direction.
In my book Wake Up and Smell the Contraband, 2nd Edition, I outline many fundamental ideas behind illicit trade. Some of these I would like to share with you today, with the intent to build upon them in the future. They include:
- A working definition of contraband;
- Motivations of inmates;
- 5 economic systems inside the walls;
- Specialized trade niches;
- The contraband control process;
- The 25 law of contraband.
These ideas blend together to form a strong conceptual foundation of how illicit trade flows through an institution. They give us a way to understand how, where, and why prisoners use and trade contraband.
The codification of the search for prohibited goods in Wake Up and Smell the Contraband allows us to take a conceptual peek into illicit trade. From there we can see these thoughts come alive, as our observations and experiences make them more concrete.
Any contraband uncovered from these education strategies adds to our safety. The safety of all inside is at stake. And safety inside the walls adds an extra layer of protection for the general public. How effectively we preserve that safety depends on how well we detect and control the movement of illicit goods behind the walls.
