LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville jail was on lockdown for about eight hours on Nov. 21, after a scheduled, but unannounced facility wide sweep took place.
“Every single inmate in that facility is going to be touched on, searched from contraband, patted down, their area is going to be searched, their bunks, common areas, showers, bathrooms, everything,” explained jail FOP President, Tracy Dotson.
The top to bottom search of Metro Corrections for drugs, weapons, cell phones and other contraband kept visitors away and movement in and out of the jail limited.
"The purpose of the search is to maintain the safety and security of the workplace," Metro Corrections Director Dwayne Clark said in a statement.
Dotson said there’s a number of reasons to go through such an intense sweep.
“Could be the length and time since the last one, could be maybe an uptick in reports of finding contraband, things of that nature,” he said.
LMDC has seen problems with contraband before. In 2018, seven people at Metro Corrections, including former and current inmates, as well as civilian employees were indicted, involved in an alleged drug smuggling operation.
“Anytime that you have the amount of movement that we have within our population, you're going to see things of that nature,” Dotson explained.
There are security measures in place to try and prevent it.
“Every single person sworn or not, has to go through, if they come with a bag, has to have their bag checked with our x-ray machine in the lobby.” Dotson said there is also a body scanner, and though jail employees are not required to go through it, they could if under any suspicion.
“Increased body scan usage, increased pat downs, increased dorm presence. The thing is, whether you find anything or not, you're instilling a level of security,” Dotson said when asked what he would like to see.
A statement from the jail would only say the sweep uncovered some homemade weapons.
"We search for contraband in the jail every day – the search maybe of an individual inmate; a select housing; or the focus may be an entire floor. Each day Corrections Officers conduct a thorough pat-down search of inmates upon their admission to jail and immediately follow that search with the use of a detention grade body scanner in an effort to locate contraband before the contraband can make its way in the general inmate population – and the focused search today was another part of sound correctional practices," Director Clark said in a statement.
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