THE number of South Australian Operation Security Unit dogs trained to sniff out contraband in the state’s prisons is set to increase, with the upcoming acquisition of two new members to the squad.
Since 2014, the State Government has funded an expansion of sniffer and general purpose dogs, almost tripling the squad from five to a forecast 14 dogs by the end of this year.
Corrections Minister Chris Picton announced the upcoming acquisition of two new dogs to be specially trained in detecting the illegal smuggling of Suboxone – a prescription opiate substitute.
The government also recently acquired Molly, an additional general purpose Corrections dog, to help manage high-risk incidents through staff protection and tracking.
Mr Picton said the announcement came on the back of a successful year stamping out drugs in prisons, with Corrections staff conducting an extra 45,000 prisoner searches throughout 2016/17.
There was a 15pc decrease in contraband finds from the previous year despite the increased number of searches, with a 20pc decrease in contraband finds also recorded in 2015/16.
Items seized included illegal tattooing equipment, electronic equipment, drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Strict policies mean the number of people who have been banned from correctional facilities over the past year has more than tripled, compared to the previous year.
In 2016/17, 294 visitors to prisons were banned, compared to 94 in 2015/16.
