While correctional facilities across the State of Maine are providing Medical Assisted Treatment (MAT) aimed at reducing recidivism of inmates addicted to opioids, jails are struggling to prevent drugs from being smuggled to inmates, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday press release.
The Sheriff’s Office said that there is an “alarming” amount of dangerous drugs being smuggled into Maine’s correctional facilities, despite most jails having full-body scanning machines to help prevent contraband.
“Correctional facilities across the state experience the same challenges. How would someone get drugs into a jail? Visitors, vendors, and mail have been some of the methods, but the largest issue is dangerous contraband being brought within a person’s body,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote.
“This crime is extremely dangerous to the individuals involved, the staff, and other inmates within the facility,” they added. “It is counterproductive to the mission of a MAT program.”
Under the MAT program, inmates in Maine jails that are addicted to opiates and opioids are provided with a clinical assessment, medication such as Methadone and Suboxone to support the detox process, counseling, and release planning.
The most recent smuggling attempt encountered by the Penobscot Sheriff’s Office involved an individual being booked at the county jail with a lighter, drug paraphernalia, and “a large quantity of dangerous drugs inside their body.”
The Sheriff’s Office released the images below of the contraband found inside the body of the individual.
“We are sharing this information as an example of the challenges that correctional facilities experience, Our mission is to provide a safe and humane correctional facility,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote.
“Having individuals who are willing and interested in their well-being, along with a system that understands the challenges that correctional facilities face, is an important part of meeting our mission,” they wrote.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29556 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29556">4 Comments
So, do full-body scans successfully detect drug packages concealed in body cavities, or not? Or, are individuals involved in running those jails on the take? And, would any of this be happening if drugs were worthless, because–say–they were completely legal & everyone could grow countless bushels of the stuff? (How much money would that save Mainers in law-enforcement expenses?)
“Their body”? How about a simple his or her body?
Just keep the boader open so it is real cheap. Thank Joe and his Bright Bulbs.
And… Isn’t the Maine Dept. of Corrections training illegals to be prison guards at these facilities? Makes it a lot easier to smuggle in drugs, now doesn’t it? Things that make you go, “Hmm”.