Violence And Drugs In Alabama Prisons

I’ve mentioned before that I have been a nurse for over 24 years. Currently I work in the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC).

You may have heard of the recent DOJ report on violence in the ADOC system. Unfortunately, I feel this report falls far short of an accurate picture because of all that it neglects to mention. It does reveal that ADOC experiences far more violent instances than the next most violent prison system. However, the DOJ report mentions only prisoner-on-prisoner violence. It does not mention officer-on-prisoner or prisoner-on-officer violence.

The DOJ report also makes recommendations for curbing the violence in ADOC facilities such as increasing the number of officers.

Where the report truly falls short is expressing where the violence stems from in the majority of cases. Speaking from first hand experience, what I can tell you is that the majority of violent incidents are related to drug use and traffic inside the prison system.

This brings up an obvious question which nobody seems to want to address. This is a prison system. So, how do drugs even get into the prisons? The answer should be just as obvious as the question.

At some prisons, all personnel are checked on entering the facility. At others like the prison I currently work at, checks are random. Nurses get “shaken down” or dogs sniff your vehicle before entering. Since I began here a year ago, no nurse has been caught smuggling in an illicit substance. Tales of…