Jails across the U.S. face a crisis of illicit drug abuse, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson warns, and she says it is endangering deputies as well as inmates.
“Fentanyl, along with a myriad of other illegal substances, continues to infiltrate our nation’s correctional facilities at an alarming rate,” said Hutson. “Our deputies are being exposed to illegal drugs daily while sorting postal & legal mail sent to residents.”
The sheriff said the arrest of a woman at the jail earlier this month is an example of what her office and others in the country are facing. On February 1, deputies report a woman tried to bring drugs into the Orleans Justice Center by hiding them in the soles of her shoes.
The sheriff said other drug investigations have led to the re-booking of detainees and the firings of deputies and recruits for allegedly smuggling drugs into the jail.
Sheriff Hutson also urged Congress to pass the Federal Bureau of Prisons Fentanyl Mail Protection bill, which aims to strengthen mail screening procedures in federal correctional facilities, seeking to intercept fentanyl and other illicit substances sent to inmates via the mail.