Consensus building on needles in the prison?

Dogs miss a lot. Their benefit is occasionally finding the unexpected.

How insane! What’s wrong with using dogs to detect drugs on visitors and staff, I’m sure this would work, not so hard, how on earth can these prisoners be rehabilitated, under this scheme, that’s why most of them are there in the first place, talk about dumb!
Why not detox and counselling?
This won’t stop the spread of hep C or Aids, they better throw in some condoms!

I’ve written no end of letters and articles on Syringes in prison. The Canberra Times however simply does not give oxygen to any argument against, unless it’s the straw man ‘drugs are bad’ argument put up to be demolished by proponents. However, I did carefully read Ms. Bresnan’s announcement. She wants to ‘Overcome’ concerns expressed by staff. (Note, not ‘address’ them, but overcome them.) That’s the Green way. She also indulges in Newspeak referring to objections being raised by ‘some’ officers. In 20 years I never met one single screw either working or retired that is in favor. Perhaps if The Greens really have such people they may like to trot one of them out?

A few weeks ago on the very same Times page as an ‘ACT needs a needle exchange’ story, there was a news item where one, Julianne Williams, was bail refused for aledgedly using a blood-filled syringe in an armed hold up. Presumably Ms. Bresnan is confident that later that evening Williams was somehow a fit and proper person to be issued with a syringe and would never dream of misusing it….

Inspector Of Prisons Stuart Gillespie would have syringes and needles banned outright. No questions asked. Addicts would instead be forced to undergo drug detox, or starve and go without. Gillespie would kick Stanhope’s arse so hard he wouldn’t be able to sit down for a a very long time. The Hume Hilton is hideously luxurious.

Pitchka said :

Why TF are these inmates still allowed to inject themselves with illicit drugs when incarcerated!

…for drug offences in most cases.

Another Stanhope F—up!

Clearly there are enough drugs coming into the Hilton to justify this.

I bet a few years in there is looking pretty damn attractive to a lot of people right now.

Well providing free syringes is hardly like giving them access to the telly – Ok yes its saying that drugs in prison exist and we’re failing it our attempts to stamp it out. But I don’t know of any prisons where illicit drugs aren’t a problem unfortunately.

I don’t see how providing syringes and disposal means will increase the use of drugs in jail.

The only real problem is the potential use of the syringes as a weapon and I don’t know how they are going to address that.

Whether one agrees with the a) jail is for punishment or b) jail is for rehabilitation or both, I can’t see this program serving either.

“The vast majority of experts and interest groups support an NSP because it’s the best chance we have against stopping the spread of hepatitis C and other blood borne viruses amongst prisoners and the wider community,” Ms Bresnan said today.”

Ummm Nope. Just dont inject – simple. Our Ms Bresnan seems fatally affected with “greenism” whereby the Brain is incapable of rational thought and prefers to meander aimlessly through life with ‘feel good’ garbage like this.

Why TF are these inmates still allowed to inject themselves with illicit drugs when incarcerated!

boo boo said :

I’d like to hear what the officer’s concerns are. Will they be working in an environment that has the potential for a stick-injury in a confrontation for example? It would only take one bad apple in a barrel full of them.

I think they already work in that environment. At least with the “program” the needles/syringes won’t be hidden in places around the gaol but rather disposed of properly.

” Will they be working in an environment that has the potential for a stick-injury in a confrontation for example? It would only take one bad apple in a barrel full of them.”

I believe the argument runs that they are already working in this environment.

Am i so old fashioned that i still think that jail is a place of punishment? Having this program is ludicris! These people are being punished! The only drugs that they should have access to is asprin after the guards re-educate them.

This is a waste of taxpayers dollars.

I’d like to hear what the officer’s concerns are. Will they be working in an environment that has the potential for a stick-injury in a confrontation for example? It would only take one bad apple in a barrel full of them.