The Elusive Goal of Drug-Free Prisons

ABSTRACT

Background: Although there is a need for well-designed evaluations, international evidence shows that drugs frequently enter prisons and enforcement efforts are said to be linked to adverse events. Objectives: This study sought to examine drug enforcement within a federal prison system, overseen by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), and to detail competing perspectives. Methods: Three main sources of data were used in this qualitative study: 16 interviews conducted between 2010 and 2012 with former CSC senior officials, former frontline staff, and external stakeholders; CSC research publications and other documents; and transcripts from a relevant House of Commons Standing Committee public study. All texts were coded and compared to examine emergent themes of interest. Results: Six key themes are described as contested effects of enhanced in-prison drug enforcement: (1) continued and creative efforts to bring in drugs; (2) climate of tensions and violence; (3) prisoners switching their drug use; (4) health-related harms; (5) deterrence of visitors; and (6) staff involvement in the in-prison drug trade. Conclusions/Importance: Urgently needed are rigorous evaluations of in-prison drug enforcement, along with closer scrutiny of policy recommendations that uphold the goal of drug-free prisons. Studying similar prison systems as complex risk-managing organizations may offer new information about drug enforcement policy and practice resistance despite detrimental effects.

Keywords:

• Prison
• drugs
• enforcement
• organizations
• policy

Notes

1. See Commissioner's Directive 585, last retrieved on December 12, 2014 from www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/plcy/cdshtm/585-cde-eng.shtml.

2. See website for Canada's National Anti-Drug Strategy, last retrieved on March 22, 2015 from www.nationalantidrugstrategy.gc.ca.

3. Researcher bias is a potential drawback of purposive sampling, but this is more likely to interfere when subjective judgments about participant selection are not acknowledged or well informed. Knowledgeable key informants were approached for potential interviewee suggestions. I observed consistency with the recommendations of who to speak to and, in some cases, agencies.

4. Initial interviewees gave feedback regarding specific policies and practices that should be asked about with future interviewees – feedback that I incorporated into my interview questions.

5. At the time, the research summaries were categorized on CSC's website as Research at a Glance, Research Review, Emerging Research Results, and Research Snippets. See Research at CSC, last accessed on December 20, 2014 from www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/smmrs/smmrs-eng.shtml. Please note that the layout of this webpage changed since the research was conducted.

6. Retrieved January 2012 from www.parl.gc.ca.

7. As a point of correction, studies have indicated a slower rate of excretion of cocaine metabolites from the body and thus a longer (e.g., 48-hour or greater) window of detection is possible (e.g., Huestis et al., 2007; Preston et al., 2002).

8. See “Don't risk it! Keeping drugs out”, last retrieved on December 20, 2014 from www.csc-scc.gc.ca/vids/htm/drugs-eng.shtml.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tara Marie Watson

Dr. Tara Marie Watson received her PhD from the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto where she collected the data for this manuscript. She is currently a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Her longstanding research interests include substance use, drug policy, corrections, risk and punishment, and organizational risk management.