I believe that excessive amounts of a seemingly innocent item should be considered to be contraband. A prisoner may have a pen in his possession; but there is no valid reason for a prisoner to hoard 100 pens.
Each item should be assigned a specific numeric limit. Otherwise, discretion erodes the imposition of sanctions and permits loopholes. The resulting ambiguity may ultimately increase danger.
Limiting excessive amounts of allowable items is important because it controls illegal trade. It also slows the manufacture of weapons from unlikely items.
Trade issues
Prisoners are generally allowed to possess soap. One or two bars of soap found during a cell search is no big deal. What if you find 200 bars of soap in a cell? On the face of it, this seems to reflect the actions of a compulsive hoarder. However, it is more likely that the prisoner serves as the hub of an illicit trading system.
What can someone do with 200 bars of soap? One could buy a weapon or hire protection. One could procure some narcotics or medication. Depending on the market price, one could acquire someone’s service to assault staff or a prisoner. Considering the power of illicit commerce, items allowed in excess presents potentially dangerous situations. Everything has a price inside the walls.
Unlikely weapons from ordinary objects
Nuisance contraband is like seeing a single ant on your kitchen floor. One ant is a manageable problem. However, 1,000 ants represent an infestation. Similarly, one bee is just something to eliminate with a swat. Yet, hundreds of bees become a dangerous swarm.
Let’s apply this to inanimate objects one would find in a jail or prison.
A single rubber band may seem completely innocent. Perhaps rubber bands are forbidden to be in a prisoner’s possession in your facility. Still, they may be regarded by many staff as not worthy of writing a misconduct report. The rubber band is nuisance contraband and is often beneath consideration of some staff. They may ask, “What is one rubber band in the greater scheme of things?” The prisoner who possesses a rubber band seems to have a valid utility, claiming that it keeps together his folders for legal work.
Suppose the same prisoner works as a clerk or knows a tutor. He is able to obtain an average of three rubber bands a day. In a month of five days on work or school assignment, that totals sixty rubber bands. Like the quiet, yet persistent weight of ice slowly accumulating on a roof during winter, a peril grows in the collection of rubber bands. Think of the powerful launcher that sixty rubber bands can make. This is also a formidable tripping and choking tool. With enough single rubber bands connected, the bold prisoner can hinder the opening of a door, leaving a room and those inside temporarily vulnerable.
Possession of a paper clip may seem like no big deal. Just like with a single rubber band, a prisoner can make the case that it helps keep his papers organized. On the face of it, with a single paper clip one can make low grade contraband like a short poker, or a makeshift lighter.
Yet, a prisoner can make a spiky black jack or mace with paper clips unfolded many rubber bands. Also, twenty large paper clips together can make a dangerous garrote. The garrote can be strengthened by twisting each paper clip. The garrote with twisted paper clips may not look like an elegant weapon, but it will be effectively reinforced and more dangerous.
Doubtless, the spectrum of concern about this is wide. Some will view possession of little, seemingly innocent items as a mere nuisance. Other staff will confiscate all things forbidden by policy with no exceptions.
Most staff operate somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. This is tempered by factors such as work styles, the culture of a work assignment and/or the institution, and the impact of recent contraband discoveries. Whatever your stance on the matter, it remains that little things could pose dangers to all.
