Needle Exchange Programs in Correctional Institutions
The highest concentrations of individuals at risk for HIV infection are found in correctional institutions. There is evidence that indicates that the prevalence of HIV infection among people living within the Canadian correctional environment is greater than in the general population. ... “In an inmate survey carried out by the Correctional Service of Canada in 1995, 40 percent of 4285 federal inmates self-reported having used drugs since arriving at their current institution”. (Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, High Risk Behaviours behind Bars, 2001/2002) Prior to entering correctional facilities, most inmates are more susceptible to infection than the general population. ...
Despite the great efforts of correctional officers and staff to prevent drug use by inmates, the reality is that offenders can, and will, obtain drugs in prison. “In a study of risk behaviours among incarcerated men and women in medium security provincial correctional institutions in Montreal, 73. ... 1996) Most staff members of correctional institutions acknowledge that drug use and needle sharing is a reality, and there does not seem to be a way of prohibiting drugs from entering the prison system. ... There is a perception in the correctional institutions and in the general public that harm reduction strategies send the wrong message to the inmate population and to society as a whole. ... Needle exchange programs are one way of helping to prevent the transmission of communicable disease in prison. ... 1996) At this time there are no Canadian prisons that have started a needle distribution project. ... In June 1994, Switzerland started the Hindelbank Pilot Project, which was a one-year AIDS prevention program utilizing needle distribution. ... In the Hindelbank Project, “No new cases of infection with HIV or hepatitis occurred and a significant decrease in needle sharing was observed.” (Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Prevention: Sterile needles, 2001/2002) This study proves that the needle exchange programs decrease needle sharing and reduce transmission of communicable diseases. We need to reduce the risk of harm for everyone living in Canada, no matter their province or residence, including inmates in correctional institutions.
The harm reduction advocates take the position that preventing the spread of communicable diseases in correctional institutions will protect the un-incarcerated society, since inmates are usually in prison for short periods of time and then released back into the community. ... Members of the Expert Committee on AIDS and Prisons were told by inmates that drug use and needle sharing are frequent and that sometimes 15 to 20 people will use one needle. ... Some correctional staff believe that the percentage is closer to 20% to 30% of inmates injecting drugs in prison. ... We must implement programs to prevent the further transmission of these deadly diseases.
Many employees of the correctional facilities fear that needles and other items used in harm reduction strategies will be used against them as weapons. ... Even now, syringes are circulating in prison institutions; correctional staff has already had to deal with this danger for some time. This is a problem with which correctional staff are already confronted with, in the sense that inmates have many opportunities to obtain weapons or to make them.
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