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Few prison guards fired, prosecuted for contraband smuggling

What happens to Texas prison staff caught smuggling contraband into prisons? For the most part, nothing, says a report by the Houston Chronicle ("Illicit goods keep flowing into prisons," March 15):Texas prisons are a virtual bazaar of prohibited and illicit goods smuggled in by guards and correctional employees who have rarely faced harsh punishment when caught, according to a Houston Chronicle review. Nearly 300 employees, many lowly paid correctional officers, were reprimanded for possessing prohibited items at 20 prison units with the most pervasive contraband problem between 2003 and 2008, records show. Of the 263 employees disciplined solely for contraband, about three-fourths (199) were given probation, where they were placed under special scrutiny for specified periods...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 16, 2009 (boomark / email).