Two staff indicted for conspiring to bring in drugs. Jail staff charged with smuggling marijuana and phone. Sheriff fires, arrests, and charges four jail staff for “promoting prison contraband.” ( more) This year alone, 20 jail staff members in 12 separate county jails were arrested, indicted, or convicted on charges of bringing in or planning to bring in contraband. What I found wouldn’t surprise any person in jail, but it’s a truth that sheriffs prefer to avoid: Almost all contraband introduced to any local jail comes through staff. I reviewed news stories of arrests made in 2018 of individuals caught bringing contraband into jails and prisons.

But more importantly, by blaming contraband on in-person visitors, sheriffs distract from a far more likely source: jail staff. For one thing, this scenario is implausible, given that in-person jail visitors are virtually always separated from their loved ones by a glass window. Sheriffs raise the specter of visitors loaded down with drugs, somehow passing them through physical searches and through body scanners and through glass partitions, with the only solution being a move to remote technology. This argument is demonstrably false, and yet jail administrators repeat it at every possible opportunity. To ward off claims that this is just a money-grubbing scheme, sheriffs invoke the argument that doing away with face-to-face visits “increase the safety and security of our facilities,” presumably by stopping contraband brought in by jail visitors.

Usually, sheriffs simultaneously do away with in-person visits, despite studies showing that they are crucial for maintaining family bonds. Sheriffs are increasingly welcoming video calling technology into their jails, with more than 500 local jails now contracting with video calling providers like GTL and Securus. Who’s really bringing contraband into jails? Our 2018 survey confirms it’s staff, not visitors When jails cut family visits in the name of security, advocates should demand evidence.

Sneaking contraband into jail