sunkissed
07-22-2003, 10:51 PM
Vendor program tested at Wasco prison
By SHELLIE BRANCO, Californian staff writer
e-mail: sbranco@bakersfield.com
Friday July 04, 2003, 09:28:00 PM
Property officers for the California Department of Corrections have seen drugs, weapons and other contraband sneaked through packages from the outside in the craftiest ways.The inspectors found LSD coated on the backs of postage stamps. Chunks of crack cocaine have been hidden inside M&M's candies, the bags so carefully resealed that it was nearly impossible to detect tampering.Failed to mention here the contraband which is brought in by staff who are not searched at all.
It's hoped that these kinds of security notices from the California Department of Corrections' informational bulletin will be greatly reduced (reduced by how much? the lousy 1% brought in through the mail?) thanks to a new vendor package program test-piloted by Wasco State Prison, said Wasco spokesman Capt. James Hartley and California Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Heimerich. Wasco, which mainly serves as a reception center, allows the 800 to 1,100 inmates housed in its general population yard to receive packages from the outside every three months, said Wasco spokesman Lt. Troy Ojeda. Fails to also mention if the inmate purchases the package himself he will be paying basically 55% more considering the restitution off the top)
The quarterly packages of up to 30 pounds were troublesome because some items that families sent, such as candy-filled glass jars, were not approved by the prison and would have to be returned to the families or destroyed, Ojeda said.The searches were time-consuming for staff and frustrating for families, he added.Under the vendor program, vendors will offer at retail prices prison-approved food, such as coffee in clear plastic containers, and other items, including hygiene products.
Prisoners on good behavior who receive the privilege to order from the vendor send wish lists of items to their families, Ojeda said.Then a prisoner's relatives mail the payment to the vendor and the vendor delivers the package to the prison. Prisoners can also order items for themselves, which allows those without contacts on the outside to enjoy quarterly packages, Ojeda added.D and D Enterprises of Visalia is Wasco's current vendor, though the prison is exploring other possible vendors, including Packages R Us of West Covina, Hartley said."Families are pleased because they don't have to shop for items," Ojeda said Whose families are pleased?
"There's no pressure on the family to send contraband.""Inmates have 24 hours a day, seven days a week to decide how they can compromise our security," Ojeda said. "We had staff looking at every package, but the best-trained person is not going to catch something 100 percent of the time."Wasco and High Desert State Prison in Susanville tested the vendor package program in the past year, Heimerich said.On June 24 the California Department of Corrections issued a statewide memo notifying prisons that wardens could voluntarily implement vendor package programs, he added.
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By SHELLIE BRANCO, Californian staff writer
e-mail: sbranco@bakersfield.com
Friday July 04, 2003, 09:28:00 PM
Property officers for the California Department of Corrections have seen drugs, weapons and other contraband sneaked through packages from the outside in the craftiest ways.The inspectors found LSD coated on the backs of postage stamps. Chunks of crack cocaine have been hidden inside M&M's candies, the bags so carefully resealed that it was nearly impossible to detect tampering.Failed to mention here the contraband which is brought in by staff who are not searched at all.
It's hoped that these kinds of security notices from the California Department of Corrections' informational bulletin will be greatly reduced (reduced by how much? the lousy 1% brought in through the mail?) thanks to a new vendor package program test-piloted by Wasco State Prison, said Wasco spokesman Capt. James Hartley and California Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Heimerich. Wasco, which mainly serves as a reception center, allows the 800 to 1,100 inmates housed in its general population yard to receive packages from the outside every three months, said Wasco spokesman Lt. Troy Ojeda. Fails to also mention if the inmate purchases the package himself he will be paying basically 55% more considering the restitution off the top)
The quarterly packages of up to 30 pounds were troublesome because some items that families sent, such as candy-filled glass jars, were not approved by the prison and would have to be returned to the families or destroyed, Ojeda said.The searches were time-consuming for staff and frustrating for families, he added.Under the vendor program, vendors will offer at retail prices prison-approved food, such as coffee in clear plastic containers, and other items, including hygiene products.
Prisoners on good behavior who receive the privilege to order from the vendor send wish lists of items to their families, Ojeda said.Then a prisoner's relatives mail the payment to the vendor and the vendor delivers the package to the prison. Prisoners can also order items for themselves, which allows those without contacts on the outside to enjoy quarterly packages, Ojeda added.D and D Enterprises of Visalia is Wasco's current vendor, though the prison is exploring other possible vendors, including Packages R Us of West Covina, Hartley said."Families are pleased because they don't have to shop for items," Ojeda said Whose families are pleased?
"There's no pressure on the family to send contraband.""Inmates have 24 hours a day, seven days a week to decide how they can compromise our security," Ojeda said. "We had staff looking at every package, but the best-trained person is not going to catch something 100 percent of the time."Wasco and High Desert State Prison in Susanville tested the vendor package program in the past year, Heimerich said.On June 24 the California Department of Corrections issued a statewide memo notifying prisons that wardens could voluntarily implement vendor package programs, he added.
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