N E W S  R E L E A S E	COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Department of Corrections Commonwealth News Bureau Room 308, Main Capitol Harrisburg, PA 17120
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Michael Lukens, Press Secretary 717) 975-4862

 

NATIONAL STUDY REVEALS RIDGE ADMINISTRATION CRACKDOWN HAS MADE PENNSYLVANIA PRISONS NEARLY 99 PERCENT DRUG FREE

GRATERFORD, Montgomery County (Jan. 22) – The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) today announced that the number of Pennsylvania inmates who tested positive for illegal drugs decreased nearly 80 percent in the past two years, according to the results of the Pennsylvania Prison Drug Testing Project. The study found that Pennsylvania prisons now are nearly 99 percent drug free.

The Department of Corrections and the NIJ collaborated for the study, the first of its kind within a state prison system.

The study measured the prevalence of drug use within the prisons, examined detection technology and evaluated interdiction strategies.

"Gov. Ridge and I have made sobriety the cornerstone of our efforts to help inmates prepare for a productive return to society," said Corrections Secretary Martin F. Horn. "We believe the results prove that we are nearing our goal of ‘zero tolerance’ for illegal drugs inside our prisons."

Jeremy Travis, director of the National Institute of Justice, agreed. "I believe the work by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will inspire renewed confidence among other prison administrators that we can indeed make our correctional institutions drug free," Travis said.

The study further underscores the usefulness of hair testing for drug detection in prisons and is the first to use this detection method to monitor a prison drug crackdown.

The Pennsylvania Prison Drug Testing Project involved the testing of inmates’ hair and urine for illegal substances in 1996 and 1998, then comparing the results. In the years between the tests, the Corrections Department launched efforts to battle drug use by inmates.

The strategy was comprehensive. To stop drugs from entering the prison, the department began using electronic drug-detection devices, monitoring inmate telephone calls and searching staff.

To find drugs that were hidden in the prisons, the department increased the number of K-9 teams and cell searches. Inmates, visitors and staff who engage in drug activities are punished and prosecuted. And to help inmates overcome their addictions, the department expanded its substance abuse treatment programs.

The key findings of the project are:

• The percent positive for any drug fell from 7.8 percent in 1996 to 1.4 percent in 1998, making Pennsylvania's prisons nearly 99 percent drug free;
• For marijuana, the drug for which inmates most frequently tested positive, the percent positive decreased from 6.5 percent in 1996 to 0.3 percent in 1998; and
• All of the prisons experienced dramatic declines in the number of positive drug tests.

Results:	1996	1998
Graterford	11.3 percent	1.1 percent
Pittsburgh	13 percent	7.2 percent
Somerset	2.2 percent	0.8 percent
Cresson	5.7 percent	0.6 percent
Muncy	11.5 percent	0.5 percent

 
The first tests were done in early 1996, when 1,000 inmates from five prisons – Cresson, Graterford, Muncy, Pittsburgh and Somerset – were randomly selected to undergo urine and hair analysis. Research has shown that while urine retains a two- to three-day history of drug use, a sample of hair reveals whether someone has used drugs within the three months prior to the test.

Inmates were tested for marijuana, cocaine, opiates and PCP.

According to researchers at NIJ and the Corrections Department, enough inmates were tested at random to accurately reflect the prison population as a whole.

The results of the 1996 head hair analysis, used as the baseline for the study, revealed that 7.8 percent of the inmates tested positive for drug use in the three months prior to the test. Urinalysis showed almost no recent use.

Earlier this year, another 1,000 inmates from the same prisons were randomly selected to undergo the same tests. This time, head hair analysis revealed that only 1.4 percent of inmates tested positive for drug use in the past three months – a drop of nearly 80 percent. Again, urinalysis alone revealed virtually no recent drug use.

Horn credits the department's interdiction efforts as the main reason for the dramatic difference. Among the interdiction strategies introduced in the past two years:

• The number of drug-sniffing dog teams that search the prisons was doubled from four to eight. In 1998, canine teams were responsible for 137 drug finds and 23 weapon finds;
• The department purchased three ion scanners and 15 itemisers for the prisons. The high-tech, hand-held devices detect trace amounts of illegal substances. Visitors are searched when they enter an institution and if the ion scanner has a positive result, the visitor is denied admission. In 1998, 22,074 visitors were scanned, 734 testing positive;
• The prison system began monitoring inmates’ telephone calls, which has led to the confiscation of contraband; and
• Inmates undergo random urine tests. Using computer technology, state prisons every day select a sample of inmates to test for illegal substances. Those with positive test results face stiff, mandatory sanctions and must undergo treatment.

Horn stressed, however, that interdiction alone does not account for the results.

"The Corrections Department has developed a holistic approach to overcoming addiction and preventing recidivism. This includes treatment and tracking," Horn said.

All inmates, upon entering the state prison system, undergo an evaluation to determine if they are in need of substance abuse treatment. Statistics show that nearly 92 percent of them are.

All of the state's 24 prisons offer treatment, but seven of them also operate therapeutic communities, in which inmates with severe substance abuse problems are housed separately and undergo intensive, long-term treatment. The department also has a motivational boot camp in Clearfield County that stresses drug and alcohol treatment. Inmates who successfully complete the program are eligible for early release.

Last year, in an effort to respond to the growing number of inmates with addictions, the department opened its first substance abuse treatment prison. The institution, in the City of Chester, requires inmates to undergo difficult, intensive and long-term treatment. It also is the state's first non-smoking prison.

While incarcerated, all inmates undergo random urine testing. Those who test positive for substance abuse are punished, mandated into treatment and must submit to additional frequent testing.

The department also provides treatment for inmates nearing their release and parolees who are returned to prison for drug violations. Nearly 680 inmates receive substance abuse treatment from specialists like Gaudenzia and Gateway Rehabilitation at community corrections centers around the state. And in 1977, the department obtained a federal grant to open two residential substance abuse treatment programs for parolees. At the prisons in Huntingdon and Graterford, the programs stress sobriety for parolees who test positive for drug use.

Horn thanked Gov. Ridge and state legislators for enacting laws to aid drug detection and punishment.

"Gov. Ridge recognized that there was a problem with drug abuse in our prisons and he directed us to solve it," Horn said. "Pennsylvania entered into this study with the NIJ to determine the extent of the problem and to measure the effectiveness of our interdiction strategies. What we've found is that they've been highly effective."

Act 18 of the 1995 Special Session on Crime established a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for anyone convicted of bringing drugs to inmates. Act 20 of the 1995 Special Session on Crime empowered the department to "intercept, record and monitor" inmate telephone calls. Act 26 of 1997 toughened the punishment for an inmate who possesses a controlled substance by making the crime a felony, which previously was classified as a misdemeanor.

"Prison systems across the country are struggling with prison drug use," Travis said. "The drug-control work by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and their careful efforts to chronicle and measure the results of that work provide valuable information. Corrections departments in other states can use this knowledge to better fight drug use among inmates. These data also show the usefulness and effectiveness of hair analysis for detecting drug use."

 
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