By C1 Staff
ST. ALBANS – A new bill in Vermont is asking the DOC to crack down on drug smuggling in prisons.
According to the VT Digger, S.218 asks the DOC to draw up stricter rules on searching people who enter correctional facilities. The rules may include corrections officers.
DOC Commissioner Andy Pallito and the officer’s union, Vermont State Employees Association, agree that the place to start with is the visitors.
Pallito says he is working on rewriting the visitation rules to punish inmates found to be participating in smuggling contraband by temporarily suspending their right to have visitors.
He’s also considering suspending visitation rights for inmates who test positive in urine samples.
If those changes don’t have an effect on the flow of contraband, the DOC is considering issuing clear bags to staff for lunches to be brought into secure facilities.
Pallito says he doesn’t want to resort to staff searches; only three or four employees a year are disciplined for bringing in contraband.
One argument against staff searches is the time and money it costs to search each employee every day. Cases of contraband in Vermont facilities occur a few times a year and are low compared to other states.
The bill also asks for a number of other reports from the DOC, and authorizes other measures, including criminal background checks and drug tests before hiring employees, which the union also supports.
The bill will also study the DOC’s staffing, particularly the dependence on temporary employees. The DOC employs about 40 temps; some fill full-time slots and some are replacements when others are on vacation.
The DOC is also required to submit a report by Oct. 15 regarding the safety and security concerns arising from public or private entities employing offenders through work programs.