Topic: Security Central / Importance of weapons certifications

At my facility, we are required to qualify on the .38, the Mini 14, and the shotgun (of course, there are more toys for SORT). You must qualify to maintain your job, but they pretty much let you shoot until you qualify.

I wish we could get more firearms sessions. The state usually only budgets for 1 firearms training every 12 months, but this year we get 2. We actually aren’t allowed to check out weapons (even though there are more than enough in the Armory), and we can’t use the range at all on our own (the State doesn’t want the liability), which really sucks because the local PD, Sheriffs Dept, ICE, DEA, and National Guard can use it whenever they want to.

For the actual classroom material, we go over the same presentation every time. The only difference was last year. Due to state budget cuts, we just sat down at a laptop, viewed the slideshow on our own, then took a quiz.

Topic: Security Central / Drug Smuggling in Prisons.

We see most of our contraband at the on-site manufacturing plant. They hide it in the machinery and most recently, hollowed out table legs and made secret compartments in the wooden tables to store it. Tobacco is probably the most prolific drug contraband we find, but there’s a lot of marijuana as well. Meth keeps finding its way in. The most creative way we’ve seen so far was an inmate’s girlfriend, who handed him a pack of gum during a visit. The visitation officer had one of those “funny feelings” we all get and took it from him when they strip searched him afterward. It looked like gum and smelled like gum, but tested positive for meth. An informant entered the Captain’s office a couple of months ago and told them that Heroin was going around (and gave them a sample as proof).

Most of what we have comes in via contract workers (food service and medical staff) as well as visitors and volunteers. We haven’t had any security staff bringing in anything (well, recently anyway), so that’s always good. There was an article in one of the big newspapers in the state last fall where they interviewed some crips. A former inmate said they could easily get the drugs they wanted from the officers, which made us look bad in the eyes of the public since they never pay attention to us unless it’s something negative.