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| Search of workers finds contraband |
| By Eddie Jimenez / The Fresno Bee |
| Published: 03/13/2009 |
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CALIFORNIA- An unannounced search of employees at Avenal State Prison has turned up an assortment of contraband, including pocketknives, pliers, scissors -- and a crack pipe. One employee also was found to be smuggling in cell phones and tobacco for inmates at the minimum/medium-security prison in northwest Kings County. Warden James Hartley, who ordered the surprise inspection March 3, said contraband puts all employees at risk. "It is hard to put into words the disdain and utter disappointment I feel towards those who chose to jeopardize your personal safety," Hartley said in a letter to the staff the next day. Hartley said it was the first time that such an intensive search of employees was conducted since he became warden in October 2007. He would not say whether more are planned. Officials would not discuss how often prisons conduct thorough, unannounced searches of incoming staffers. Typically, prison staff look inside purses, briefcases and lunchboxes carried by employees arriving to start their shifts each day. But in the March 3 search, which targeted one-third of the prison staff, all the contents of purses, bags, briefcases and pockets were emptied and examined, officials said. Even managers were searched, Hartley said. Hartley, who was chief deputy warden at Corcoran State Prison before coming to Avenal, said no specific incident prompted the search. The prison has some contraband coming in, but most is through inmates and their visitors, officials said. "We just want to see if there are any other areas where we can improve our security," Hartley said. Hartley said staff members accepted the unannounced search. "They understand the need for us keeping this place clean," he said. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association backs such staff searches, association spokesman Ryan Sherman said. But the prison needs to assign enough staff so security lines don't back up and make employees late for work, he said. Sherman did not hear of any problems in Avenal, but he said a similar search created delays at Folsom State Prison. The contract worker who tried to sneak a crack pipe into the prison was arrested and taken to the Kings County Jail, said Lt. John Parreira, prison spokesman. The charge could not be verified with jail records because the employee has not been named. The staff member who attempted to smuggle in tobacco and cell phones for inmates, who also has not been identified, is no longer employed at the prison, Parreira said. Charges are usually filed when someone tries to smuggle in drugs or drug paraphernalia, but not for smuggling cell phones or tobacco, Parreira said. Prisoners can use cell phones to set up attacks inside or outside the prison, officials said. They also can be used to help inmates in escape attempts or to arrange for drugs to be brought into a prison, officials said. About 2,800 unauthorized cell phones were discovered at all California prisons in 2008, said Paul Verke, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In addition to the crack pipe, the Avenal search also uncovered 13 cell phones, nine pocketknives, two pairs of scissors, a pair of pliers and various electronic devices. The items were either thrown away or returned to the employees' vehicles. Contraband is a problem at prisons across the nation. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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