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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jail Gets Tough On Contraband Special Team Assigned To Conduct Regular, Thorough Searches Of Inmates, Cells

Bonnie Harris Staff Writer

Worried that a rising jail population will bring more smuggled contraband into the Spokane County Jail, unannounced searches are being done in every “nook and cranny,” authorities said Wednesday.

A special shakedown team of six jailers was set up two weeks ago to search cells and inmates regularly, without interfering with normal jail operations. Two searches have been conducted by the team so far.

Before, shakedowns were done whenever jailers had a few free minutes, and weren’t nearly as thorough, said Capt. Jim Hill.

“Although the inmates don’t like them, (shakedowns) help keep things calmed down and safe,” Hill said. “It’s a really good thing to do.”

Recently the team found a hole the size of a softball in one inmate’s cell wall. Jailers believe the hole wasn’t for an escape attempt, but rather to smuggle drugs or cigarettes inside.

In another room, the team found a stash of thread made from unraveled jail carpet. Inmates pass the thread down through a grill in the exercise courts to waiting accomplices outside, said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. David Wiyrick.

Contraband then is tied to the line and pulled up by the inmates.

“It’s amazing how desperate these people are to get stuff inside,” Wiyrick said. “They have a lot of time on their hands, I guess.”

Hill said regular searches will discourage inmates from making weapons and hoarding laundry. Many inmates collect extra blankets and bedding so religiously that the jail sometimes ends up with a short supply, he said.

Others are creative in weapon-making. A popular method is to tie socks together and dip one end into buckets of floor wax until it hardens. The socks then become a heavy weapon that can be swung around, almost like a ball and chain, Hill said.

Shakedowns also will help jailers find other off-limit hidden items, like the pieces of fruit inmates try to keep in their cells. They wait for the fruit to rot and eventually ferment, Hill said, and then they drink the wine-like juice.

“They are industrious little critters,” he said. “If we’re not regularly going through their rooms and staying on top of it, things can really get out of hand.”

For example, Hill said if it becomes known that a few inmates have weapons, others will start making them, too.

“It creates fear and it just builds,” Hill said.

Inmates caught with illegal items in their cells get privileges revoked or are locked down as punishment, he said.

, DataTimes