MARICOPA COUNTY, Arizona — The presence of illegal drugs in prisons is an ongoing problem exacerbated by the fentanyl crisis, according to county and federal officials.

At a news conference on Wednesday about the arrest of a detainee accused of trying to smuggle fentanyl into prison, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said 17 inmates will die in drug-related incidents in 2022. I was. Three people died in 2018.

Penzone blamed the dramatic rise in deaths on fentanyl.

“Frankly, in the prison system in general, and the system across the country, fentanyl is in historic numbers,” Penzone said.

according to 2020 U.S. Department of Justice Reportdrug- and alcohol-related deaths in prisons have quadrupled since 2002.

Prisons nationwide have not seen significant increases in suicide or disease deaths, but available federal data do not yet include deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regarding the fentanyl crisis, prison reform advocates said prisons are no substitute for detox centers.

“If you put someone in jail, even the sheriff would say these aren’t facilities designed for health crises,” Wanda Bertram said. prison policy initiativea non-profit organization that studies incarceration in America.

according to 1 report by Policy Initiative, U.S. prisons remain unregulated and underresourced. One study found that most prison drug deaths occurred within the first day of incarceration.

Bertram said the focus for some suspects should be treatment, not imprisonment.

“I hope the community puts this issue into perspective and sees it as an extension of the broader public health problem. “It’s really hard to keep drugs out of prisons and prisons, and I don’t think it’s realistic to assume prisons can do that for all drugs.”

Penzone offices are researching technology to screen employees for drugs. However, I am concerned about logistics.

“One of the challenges is that it can’t be as difficult for employees to walk into the workplace and start their shifts as waiting for a flight to take off,” said Penzone. increase.

Employee screening is something Bertram welcomes.

“This is certainly a better move than what many prisons and detention centers around the country are eyeing,” Bertram said.

However, she said inmates should not pay for security technology with fees.

Penzone said he is in discussions with the county board about what technology to buy and how to pay for it.

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