A rash of trafficking in prison contraband cases at Two Bridges Regional Jail in last month’s grand jury indictments has been attributed at least in part to the visitation setup.
Last month alone the grand jury dealt with seven instances which occurred this year. “We are aggressive in seeking prosecution of any controlled substances,” Maj. Mark Anderson, assistant correctional administrator said this week.
Most of the instances at Two Bridges have concerned prescription medications rather than street type drugs like cocaine, according to Anderson.
“We have zero tolerance,” he said.
Although the numbers seem noticeable for the criminal indictments this time, incidents do happen from time to time despite surveillance cameras and corrections officers on duty during visitations.
Anderson came from a different situation in Missouri before he began employment at Two Bridges where glass dividers prevented any contact between inmates and visitors.
“I was kind of shocked when I saw the contact visits,” said Anderson.
At Two Bridges inmates used to be able to embrace each other or visitors but that ended around March when a new policy prohibiting contact went into effect.
“They sit across from each other, and there’s not a partition between them,” he said.
The room for visitation is set up for up to nine inmates to talk with visitors at once. The room does have a foot high glass divider between visitors and inmates allowing people to converse normally.
“They’re under camera surveillance and an officer is present,” Anderson said.
Some of the indictments involve inmates who themselves traffic in contraband while others involve visitors, some of whom have been inmates at one time or another and have friends there.
Anderson said he recognizes some of the names on the indictment list this time.
When there is some question with visitors and/or inmates, jail officials have made use of a couple of enclosed booths that prevent any contact, especially in more recent months.
Oftentimes, the inmates take in drugs when booked but the officers do search them as thoroughly as possible before admitting them into the housing pods at Two Bridges. To search bodies beyond the usual requires a search warrant.
Anderson held back from revealing how the jail made the discoveries to avoid jeopardizing prosecution of the cases.
Anderson said there have been few instances involving street drugs, including hardly any marijuana, for instance.
“We deal mostly with prescription drugs,” he said.
Anderson expressed thanks for lack of street drug cases, especially for methamphetamines, which he described as “the worst stuff in the world” prevalent in Missouri.
Without minimizing the incidents at the jail, he said, “We’re in a jail, and people are not always nice. They want to continue their old ways.”
