Inmates and Condoms

SFGate.com on Tuesday April 9, 2005 announces:

“Calif. Bills Target Inmate Rape, Condoms” (Don Thompson, Associated Press Writer)

One of the bills, which passed out of the Public Safety Committee 4-2, would allow nonprofit groups and health agencies to distribute condoms and other bodily fluid barriers in California prisons.

The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Paul Koretz, said, “Various studies put the incidence of homosexual activity in prison at between 30 percent and 60 percent of male inmates, while HIV infection is at least five times that of the outside population. The state spends $18 million annually treating HIV and AIDS in prison.

The second bill, which was advanced by the committee on a 5-1 vote, would require the Department of Corrections to take efforts to prevent prison rape.

People may wonder why the inmates at the California Mens Colony don’t just automatically get these condoms on entry, who will police the condom issuing, how many condoms will be handed out per inmate, and will the spread of STDs, HIV, and AIDS actually be stopped, who will be policing the fact that the issued condoms will not be used to secrete illegal drugs into the prison itself?

From my experience alone I know that because of retirement and increased Academy time to become a Correctional Officer the is a really large shortage of Officers in the Men’s Colony as it is now, who will be protecting these officers once this increased risk is introduced to the Men’s Colony?

One thing many of us don’t put in perspective are the families of these incarcerated criminals. These families get together on approved weekends and spouses are allowed conjugal visits, and yes they do have sex, but who is protecting this inmate’s wife and children? Not the inmate, and as a spouse most of these women actually believe that their spouse is not having sex or has even been raped while they do their time. The inmates pass these diseases to their wives and if their wife becomes pregnant from this person they just can’t live without, complications and these diseases are passed to the newborn.

Before choosing this subject I knew a little because I had a chance to work inside the Mens Colony, but one thing I did not know was all those who are fighting to pass through the Senate ways to actually issue condoms to the inmates incarcerated in the California Prisons. I tried to keep focus on the California Mens Colony because I know they do not issue condoms there yet. While employed at the California Men’s Colony I had the joy of working alongside some really great nurses. They informed me what they would educate the inmates about. One even said she counseled an inmate to use a baggie or some barrier to protect himself since he wasn’t going to stop having sex.

Yeah, it’s gross but you also have to consider these inmates are released into our community and yes some people in our community are having sex with these inmates, free staff that work for the prison system are having sex with these inmates and diseases caught while in prison are spreading. We need to protect the inmates in hopes of protecting our selves and the health of the residents in our county.