Jail drugs free-for-all December 4, 2006 - The Mercury
INMATES at the old Risdon Prison are freely indulging in the deadly designer drug ice, rohypnol and vodka and turning up to work in the prison laundry and kitchen "incapacitated".
A search of the prison has unearthed contraband including syringes, bongs, marijuana, drugs, a tattoo gun, a bottle of vodka and a mobile phone.
Prison assistant director Greg Partridge said drugs were "an unfortunate fact of life" in every prison in the world.
But he said claims drugs and bongs were everywhere were "quite obviously absurd" and he was not aware that inmates had been told they were "too drunk to work".
However, Community and Public Sector Union secretary Tom Lynch said the amount and variety of drugs in the prison had increased tenfold in the past few months.
"It is party time in there," he said.
"You name it, it's in there.
"We are going to see people coming out of prison with habits they did not have before they went in."
Mr Lynch confirmed inmates had been unable to start work in the morning in the laundry and the kitchen because they were "incapacitated" on drugs and booze.
And he said sexual assaults were on the rise, both at the new prison, which has had condom machines installed, and at the old.
He said some guards believed the condom machines actually encouraged assaults.
Mr Lynch linked the increase in drugs and sexual assaults to the recent downgrading of the old prison to minimum security.
"All of the old security processes have been abandoned," he said.
He said the prison had been stripped of security when the maximum- and medium-security inmates moved next door to the new $91 million Risdon.
Up until last week there had been six guards to control 139 inmates who could come and go as they pleased in three divisions.
Guards launched industrial action last week and won extra officers for the short term, and the CPSU is negotiating for more guards.
Mr Lynch said inmates' girlfriends, wives, mates and relatives brought drugs into the prison during contact visits.
Visitors have not been searched since the prison became minimum security and there is only one drug sniffer dog to work both prisons.
He said there was very little drug and alcohol counselling for inmates, despite the fact many came to prison "with huge problems".
Mr Lynch said guards were now running one and a half prisons at Risdon and resources had become stretched.
But Mr Partridge said there were a number of strategies to combat drugs including intelligence gathering and regular random searches.
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