The ACT will not rush mobile phone jammers into Canberra jail, despite allegations inmates used telecommunications to run a drug syndicate from behind bars.
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Fairfax Media revealed on Friday that the alleged ring – involving bikies, convicted criminals, and a Sydney-based Chinese drug cook – had been supplying drugs in Canberra jail.
The lucrative operation is alleged to have smuggled drugs and mobile phones into the jail.
But the alleged ring was smashed through after a police operation, using covert surveillance, and a series of raids that seized almost $85,000 cash and about 830 grams of drugs.
ACT Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury – who toured Sydney's Long Bail jail on Friday – said the ACT would watch the results of a trial of jammers at Lithgow jail before it considered introducing jamming technology at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
He said jammers posed legal and practical issues, such as spillage, and telco companies had raised concerns about there use.
"[The use of mobile phones] is an issue in jails right across the country and so the various corrective services around the country are working together on that issue," Mr Rattenbury said.
"[In the meantime] Corrective Services continue to put in place a range of measures [including a range of physical searches and intelligence] to keep contraband out."
Mr Rattenbury on Friday described the bust as a "successful outcome".
"I think that this reflects a very positive collaboration between ACT Corrective Services and ACT Policing to break down this drug operation and to use the intelligence gathered between them to make an impact and minimise the amount of illegal contraband coming into the AMC," Mr Rattenbury said.
"For me the positive element of the story is that more than 99 per cent of the drugs were found outside the jail."
Canberra Liberals corrections spokesman Andrew Wall said news of the alleged drug syndicate had alarmed the opposition.
"We've been raising concerns for a long time about drugs in Canberra's jail and we will continue to follow this particular matter closely," Mr Wall said.
"These latest developments can't distract from the fact that the ACT government wants to actually facilitate the use of drugs in the jail through a needle and syringe program against the wishes of staff."
But Mr Rattenbury said there was no such thing as a drug jail and ACT Corrective Services had a "three pronged approach" to tackle the problem at the jail.
The first approach was "supply reduction", which aimed to minimise the amount of contraband getting into the jail.
The second prong, "demand reduction", provided a range of programs so prisoners could break their drug-taking behaviour.
Thirdly, "harm minimisation" – which included plans to introduce the needle exchange program - strove to prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses among prisoners and into the community upon their release from custody.
"There are people in jail who will continue drug-taking behaviour and criminal behaviour as well. Our job is to minimise that," he said.
"It's not an either or. We don't want people taking drugs, that's why we do both the supply and demand reduction.
"But we need to acknowledge that, unfortunately, some people do do drugs and there's a public health issue there that we need to deal with as well."