VIDEO: Keeping Contraband Out Of Jails

CHICKASAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Jails face two major problems, keeping inmates in and keeping unwanted items out.

However, the Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility is doing pretty well on both counts.

Two days ago the Mississippi Department of Corrections performed a shakedown at the jail.

During the search they came up almost empty, finding only a few items.

The jail prides itself on not allowing contraband to enter the facility.

“The main thing that we deal with of course is cell phones, tobacco, and marijuana,” said Brand Huffman, warden at the Chickasaw County Regional Facility.

Huffman admits, trying to keep the unwanted items out of the jail is an everyday challenge.

“If you don’t stay on top of it they’re going to keep trying to come up with a new way, so when they come up with that new way you’ve got to be right there with them to stop it,” he said.

The warden said inmates can get pretty creative when trying to smuggle items inside the facility.

They’ll put cell phones inside of books, granola bar wrappers, and people will even try throwing items over the fence.

So to combat this problem, Sheriff James Meyers said workers perform nearly 20 random spot checks daily on the inmates to ensure nothing is being slipped in.

He explains their protocol when an inmate is being processed.

“Their searched on the facility when they get here,” the sheriff explained. “We have a holding room and their searched, and stripped down before they change into their jail uniforms. Two guards will do their search and then periodically through the day, especially at the regional jail with our state inmates, they’re searched probably three or four times a day.”

The jail has surveillance cameras all around the building to catch the mischievous activity if it does happen.

Workers are also on high alert for contraband being slipped in during visitation.

“We do just a normal pat down search,” the sheriff described. “Search their bags, and then before the visitors are allowed to leave we search the inmate. Their searched before and after, so if we catch them with contraband then we will have some questions for the visitors.”

Meyers said they have a zero tolerance for having contraband at the jails.

“If they slip in tobacco products, illegal drugs, that causes a problem with other inmates, because they’re either selling it or trading it, so we try to keep all of it out that we can,” said Meyers.

If an inmate is caught with contraband or if someone is caught trying to give an inmate contraband, they can face felony charges and spend time behind bars.