Ask any corrections officer who has been on the job for at least a few days how close they should regularly come to inmates and you’ll likely hear similar answers – as far as possible. While it’s true that not all incarcerated individuals have the desire to harm others while behind bars, the corrections environment as a whole is incredibly risky and requires officers to avoid unnecessary proximity to inmates whenever possible.
Maintaining a safe distance is often feasible during some parts of the day, especially when inmates are inside their cells. However, challenges arise when it’s time to perform routine cleaning – a necessary task to ensure sanitation, health and overall morale inside correctional facilities. Officers are often required to distribute tools like mops, buckets and brooms, introducing the risk of these items being turned into improvised weapons.
Even when cleaning tools are standard issue and designed for durability, inmates may find ways to break them down – either instantly, in an act of violence, or over time, through repeated use and tampering. A wooden mop handle, for example, could be sharpened into a stabbing device. A piece of metal hardware from a dustpan might be detached and used to puncture or slash. Even small components can be fashioned into dangerous contraband.
It’s a difficult balance to strike. Correctional facilities must remain clean to prevent the spread of disease and maintain hygiene standards, yet security must never be compromised. This leaves agencies with a fundamental question: How can inmates safely clean their living areas while minimizing risk to staff?
For many correctional institutions, the solution lies in tools manufactured by Briarwood Products – a company specializing in contraband-resistant sanitation tools for jails and prisons.
How one facility adopted ‘shank-free’ products
The Ohio State Penitentiary faced a challenge every time high-risk inmates were required to clean the inside of their cells – standard cleaning tools wouldn’t fit inside the door pass throughs, forcing officers to open the doors and hand tools to the inmates. Lt. Waylon Wine, who spoke with Corrections1 in 2020, described how their facility was able to implement Briarwood Products to increase inmate and officer safety:
“Prior to the introduction to Briarwood Products we utilized and issued cleaning products to our high-security offenders in the same manner and design as lower-security level facilities would. Those products contained materials that on occasion gave our high-risk and sometimes historically violent offenders the ability to compromise those products and construct weapons that posed a substantial risk to our staff and offenders.”
Wine said that both fiberglass and wooden tools were easily broken, and even if a tool was broken by accident, it had the potential to give other inmates the idea to use the broken item during a fight or altercation. When it came time to pass tools to inmates inside a cell, switching to Briarwood Products made an instant difference.
“We created a sally port effect with our cuff ports,” Wine said, “and our previous cleaning products weren’t able to fit in that box. Briarwood was able to use their shank-proof products and custom-make them to the dimensions we needed so we can actually use our cuff ports in the proper way. With the products they provided us, our high-risk offenders get the same type of accommodations when it comes to cleaning their cells as our other offenders now, so it’s a win-win for the offender and for the security for our staff.”
What makes these cleaning tools different
While Ohio State Penitentiary appreciated the ability to customize tools for use through cuff ports, many facilities are drawn to Briarwood Products because of how the tools are designed from a safety standpoint.
The company offers a wide range of cleaning tools including mop and broom handles and heads, buckets, toilet bowl brushes, fire-resistant trash cans, dustpans and more – all engineered specifically for corrections environments. Traditional fasteners like metal staples or screws are eliminated in favor of molded, one-piece plastic designs that drastically reduce opportunities for tampering.
Briarwood’s proprietary plastic blend is both durable and flexible. It’s strong enough to perform the job at hand but engineered to prevent cracking or splintering. Unlike metal or wood, it can’t be easily sharpened into a point. The tools are also nonconductive and antimicrobial – offering important protections for both staff and inmates.
Many of the products are fully modular, meaning facilities don’t have to discard an entire mop or broom when one part wears out. Instead, they can simply order a replacement handle or head, which saves money and streamlines inventory.
A practical approach to an ongoing challenge
There’s no question that safety in correctional settings will always be complex. Staff must juggle the competing priorities of security, sanitation and rehabilitation – often with limited time and resources. While no product can eliminate risk entirely, Briarwood’s line of shank-free cleaning tools offers a practical, scalable solution to one of the most common daily challenges.
By reducing the weaponization potential of everyday tools, correctional facilities can empower inmates to take responsibility for their living areas without creating vulnerabilities for staff. This not only improves hygiene and morale but supports a safer, more stable facility environment.
Visit Briarwood Products for more information.
