There’s a lot more entering Connecticut’s prisons and jails than suspected and convicted criminals.
Contraband is a continuing problem, despite the state Department of Correction’s efforts to keep it out.
Reports obtained from the department through a Freedom of Information request show that cell phones, batteries, drugs and other items have been found in inmates’ cells. At times, the inmates were allegedly assisted by correctional officers themselves.
The Correction Department says keeping contraband out is a top priority, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut says contraband is a symptom of “survival tactics” in a flawed justice system and records show the prison system has a busy “intelligence” unit constantly on the lookout for unauthorized items.
“It’s a pretty common occurrence,” said Michael Lawlor, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, about prison contraband.
“It’s worth noting that they go through great pains to try and prevent that from happening,” he said.
“They have searches of everybody coming in and out, they have drug-sniffing dogs. They have dogs that can sniff out batteries from cell phones, for example, which I didn’t know until I saw it firsthand,” he said. “But, of course, there are different ways of getting stuff in and and a lot of times it’s coming in through staff.”
In one example, the records show, at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, a high/maximum-security prison in Suffield, a teacher was accused of “having an undue relationship with Inmate (or IM) … and introducing marijuana products into MWCI through the barbershop program, along with other allegations of misconduct.”
The teacher also brought in food, which she told the inmates to eat in the barbershop closet. One person interviewed “stated he heard IMs in the barbershop program talking about how they ate Taco Bell for lunch on that day. The IMs would have to go into the closet to eat the food,” the records show.
Another was able to obtain a vape pen “for two hundred dollars along with edible marijuana gummies,” the records show.
An inmate admitted that he had communicated with a teacher through Facebook, who “later gave him her cell phone number. IM acknowledged conversations with (the teacher) regarding where she goes on vacation, her children’s lives, her residence…her dog, her relationship with a male staff member, and how IM was doing,” the records show.
In one search, a McDonald’s hamburger wrapper and a Dunkin’ Donuts box were found, the records show. The records are highly redacted and therefore do not show inmate names.
In another incident at MacDougall-Walker, a pair of “snips” went missing from the laundry shop. After reviewing videos of the “upholstery tool crib” and interviewing staff, the report concluded: “By their own admittance, there was a lack of accountability when tools were being issued. Furthermore, neither staff was viewed conducting tool inventory before the inmate worker’s arrival to the area.”
In another case, at Osborn Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison in Somers, correction officers “discovered a black pillow that had a Motorola cell phone, a vape pen, two vape pen cartridges, and two black chargers (one for the cellphone and one for the vape pen) inside of it,” the records show.
Officers were placed on administrative leave in connection with the incident. The records also recount cases of at least two officers who left state employment as a result of contraband investigations and in one case an arrest was made.
At Cheshire Correctional Institution, the prison Intelligence Unit “received information from (redacted) that staff was involved with IM in an elaborate drug operation which allowed the conveyance of drugs into the facility.”
The report said a correctional officer and a correctional counselor allegedly “facilitated the conveyance and movement of synthetic marijuana (K2 laced paper) throughout the facility.”
Another inmate was found to have a shank (a sharpened hairbrush) in his cell after being involved in an alleged threatened hit on another inmate, the records show.
At York Correctional Institution in East Lyme, a high-security women’s prison, an inmate was sprayed with a “chemical agent” after she refused to give up her Chapstick, the records show.
When the inmate’s cell was searched, staff found “a screwdriver with several interchangeable heads, 13 vaping cartridges, a bundle of unidentified blue capsules, a bundle of tan triangle pills with ‘Menta’ markings, one black Samsung Galaxy S9 cell phone, two 32 GB Secure Digital cards, 2 T mobile SIM cards, 1 Moxee media tablet, one charger, one SD card, one bag of various cell phone adapters, four bags of edible candy (believed to be TIIC), 3 carmel pieces of candy (believed to be THC), two loose pieces of candy (believed to be THC), opened condoms, a tattoo gun and tattoo ink,” the records show.
The prison was placed on lockdown, “and the facility was shaken down.” During the search, several inmates tested positive for controlled substances, according to the report.
And at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, a maximum-security prison that was closed in 2021, an inmate and his son “conspired to convey a hard drive containing movies for an X-Box 360 gaming system, and cannabis-infused edibles into NCI,” the records show.
Lawlor, who served as former Gov. Dannel Malloy’s adviser on criminal justice issues, said cell phones are one of the biggest problems.
“It’s a big challenge for every prison and jail around the country, and cell phones in particular, because it’s a way to contact people on the outside without being surveilled,” he said.
“Because you know that the ability to make phone calls, etc., by people who are incarcerated is monitored. They’re all recorded. So if you want to do something like commit a crime or plan revenge against the witnesses against you, or continue to operate your drug business on the outside, you know you need to have a phone that you can use,” he said.
Another common problem is drugs.
“Small amounts of drugs are easy to conceal, and the drugs these days are very potent, very powerful in small quantities, like fentanyl, for example,” Lawlor said. “They have overdose deaths in the prisons.”
One challenge is that items such as cell phones are small and easy to conceal.
“One of the reasons they do body cavity searches is looking for cell phones, believe it or not,” Lawlor said. “There’s this balance between treating people who are incarcerated as human beings and maintaining order in the facilities. And this can get really intrusive in terms of strip searches, body cavity searches, etc.”
Lawlor said the problem is especially acute in lower-level jails, but occurs in higher-security prisons as well.
“For facilities which allow contact visits with family members, the only challenge at that point is, how do you get the thing across the table without being spotted by the CO who’s in charge of watching everybody?” he said.
“If you think about it, if you’re determined to do it, you might be able to figure out a way to do it. … I think people don’t appreciate the volume of activity in facilities every day, especially the jails, where people are coming back and forth to court all the time, and new people are coming in off the street.”
A large part of the problem is a shortage of corrections officers, Lawlor said.
“It’s worth noting that, like every prison system in the country, they’re extremely short-staffed,” he said. “These days, it’s very difficult to hire people to work as correctional officers or as a medical staff and, once you’ve hired them, it’s hard to retain them.”
He said it’s likely the correction system staffing is down 30% from its authorized level.
Lawlor said there probably is no way to completely eliminate contraband.
“Just like smuggling anything anywhere, if people are determined to do it, they’ll probably figure out a way,” he said. “So that it’s almost impossible to stop it completely, and then add in you’re short-staffed.
“The money’s there. They just can’t hire enough people and keep them,” he said. “That is a nationwide problem in corrections at the moment.”
Ashley McCarthy, spokeswoman for the Correction Department, said she could not provide anyone for an interview “for safety and security reasons.” She provided a statement, saying:
“Preventing unwanted items from entering our facilities is always a top priority. We are continuously looking for opportunities to enhance our existing practices. Although this is an ongoing battle, it is one we are committed to wage.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, contraband is not the most serious issue in the correctional system.
“The issue at hand isn’t prison contraband,” said Chelsea-Infinity Gonzalez, chapter policy director, in a statement. “Contraband in prisons reflects deep systemic problems in the criminal legal system. Prisons are not known for keeping people safe and are more likely to have inhumane conditions, limited access to resources, and a lack of rehabilitation programs.”
Gonzalez also said that most inmates are “historically marginalized individuals, highlighting critical racial and economic equity issues we must grapple with in Connecticut and nationwide. Traditional social safety nets have often failed these communities and especially incarcerated people, pushing many to adopt survival tactics in desperate situations in the absence of support.”
