As first reported yesterday by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a surprise search of inmates at a (privately-run) minimum-security prison in Lawrenceville, Va. turned up half a dozen…CELLPHONES.
(Hey Screw, can you hear me now?)
The Dec. 7 discovery followed the release of an independent study citing other instances of contraband items at the prison - mostly drugs.
The prison, located in Southern Virginia near the North Carolina border, is run by the Geo Group of Boca Raton, Fla.
Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Virginia Corrections Department, said that the search this month was conducted by state officials and prison staff members, employed by the private contractor.
Traylor declined to comment on the details of the search or on whether disciplinary action followed.
Thomas A. Rosazza, a Colorado-based prison consultant, said that such security breaches are preventable and usually occur because of corruption by corrections officers, ill-supervised visitations or improperly inspected deliveries.
Filed under: Local Media
