Contraband in Prison

Contraband can be defined as anything prohibited by law being imported and exported. When it comes to prisons, anything that can’t be bought in the commissary or that isn’t given to them when they get to prison is contraband. Contraband is a major issue behind the walls and can be anything from a “homemade” shank by the inmate, or drugs or weapons smuggled into the prison from various ways. Not only is different types of contraband in the prison a threat to the inmates lives, but also a threat to the officers on duty and other staff members. Some issues with contraband in a prison are: how did it get inside the walls, what are some ways to prevent it amongst the prison, and what are some different types of contraband found in prisons? If you were to go to a prison and ask a correctional officer how many different types of contraband there was in the prison system, he/she would probably laugh because there are thousands of different things or objects that can be considered contraband. Like it was previously stated, contraband is anything that cannot be bought in the commissary or that is not given to the prisoner upon entering the prison. Some types of the more common disallowed items in prison are weapons, drugs, food items, cell phones, jewelry, and metal. The level of creativity and knowledge as it pertains to jail-made weapons is incredible. With the amount of time prisoners have on their hands, they can think of crafty ways to create weapons out of harmless materials such as Saran wrap; it can be heated or melted, then shaped into a shank to stab another inmate or officer with. Prisoners will sharpen anything that can be useful as a shank, whether it’s a plastic spoon, a piece of metal or screw/nail. A sock with rocks or batteries in it is a simple way to make an effective weapon. Even some homemade guns can be created. Believe it or not candy bars, even though they can be bought at commissary, can be used as weapons. Candy bars as a weapon? Yes – in prison,