Jail Cracks Down On Contraband

There are major changes ahead for the inmates at the Jackson County Detention Center.

Detention officials said they are cracking down on visiting rules because of smuggled contraband.

Maj. James McCoy said some items found included balloons filled with drugs that were hidden inside a body cavity.

"It's mostly either marijuana or tobacco," McCoy told KMBC's Maria Antonia.

He said the drugs pose a threat to the inmates.

"If he has something that others want, then he can be harmed, individuals could harm him in order to get it," McCoy said.

To cut down on contraband, a new family contact suspension was put in place Jan. 1.

Friends and relatives used to be able to visit inmates in the same room -- they could hold hands, hug and kiss briefly.

Now, inmate visits with family or friends will occur behind glass. The contact visitation area still gets some use when attorneys visit with inmates.

"I don't feel good about it, because I have a loved one in there," one female visitor said.

Detention officials said visitors used to be frisked and inmates had to be strip-searched after each visit, but those steps were too big of a drain on a reduced staff.

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• Kansas
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• Jackson
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• jail
• contraband
• visiting
• inmates