Prison drug fight continues

Dwight Scott, Prison Director

Friday,  December 2, 2005

On 29 November prison officers made a late night discovery of ganja in the grounds surrounding Northward Prison, recording another achievement for the fight to keep drugs out of the prison system.

Speaking with Cayman Net News, Prison Director, Dwight Scott revealed that on that night, prison officers discovered a young man hiding in the bushes on the external grounds of HMP Northward.

“The officers discovered the young man at 9:30 pm and apprehended him,” said Mr Scott.

“After carrying out a search of the area, three packets of ganja were found. We handed over the young man, and the drugs, to the police. As yet, we are uncertain as to the weight of the packets that we found.”

Mr Scott also revealed that the night’s activities resulted in the arrest of another young man. “On carrying out a more extensive search of the area, we discovered a young man waiting in a car nearby,” he added.

“Prison officers apprehended him also and he too was handed over to the police.”

The fight to keep drugs out of prison is an ongoing one the world over as well as here in the Cayman Islands.

Experts say that it is part of “prison culture” for prison officers to be involved in the prison drug trade, and there are consistent efforts at HMP Northward, to have the problem eradicated.

But another component of the problem arises when visitors and traders become involved as well.

“We have given a commitment to wiping out anything of this nature at the very root. Prison and Intelligence officers are always working diligently to stop this. Everyone, workers and visitors, are subject to the same level of scrutiny,” said Mr Scott.

“Our systems are in place to apprehend those making attempts to bring drugs in to the prison in clothes and in other ways. Our security department is very active. You will find that visitors use every method to bring the drugs in.”

Mr Scott also said that even parents and family members are found bringing drugs in for children or relatives.

Addressing this component of the problem one professional in the field said, “Even while behind bars incarcerated persons are able to have friends and families acquiesce to their demands for drugs. This is because persons in prison were oftentimes the family breadwinners and, because of the continuing dynamics of this, family members do not feel they can refuse requests.

“However, there is another angle. Sometimes prisoners call family members to say that a certain person is going to give the family member a package and the family must remember to bring it along when he or she is coming to visit.

“Oftentimes, the family member receives the package without looking into it and then is caught entering the prison with the contraband.”

In April this year persons were arrested on charges of attempting to smuggle drugs into the detention facility and in August, a prison officer was arrested on the same charge.

Prison personnel have aborted several attempts to get drugs inside the walls of the Islands’ principal rehabilitation facility.

Explaining that the prison’s walls have not been a deterrent to those outside who wish to continue plying their trade with prisoners, Mr Scott explained that there were former situations similar to the one on Tuesday night.

“We have unearthed a number of occasions where contraband is left outside the prison or attempts made to throw the substance over the walls,” he explained.

“Our officers, many a time, are on the job at odd and very late hours of the night and early morning in order to intercept this kind of illegal activity that seeks to get drugs into the prisons.”

The impact of the drug problem on the Cayman Islands is seen in how much of the Islands’ scarce financial resources are now being sunk into the purchase of costly and sophisticated drug detection and marine patrol equipment.

The intensity of the war to be fought on drugs was seen and heard most clearly when, on 3 August, following on the DTF’s seizure of 300 lbs of ganja from a vessel intercepted only 6 miles off East End, DTF Inspector Shaun Ebanks said that one drug haul in two and a half months is not where the targets of the DTF are set.

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