Due to the nature of my job, (I go to prison everyday), I will be a bit vague and not discuss where I work. Not out of fear of any ex-cons, but dont want anyone to think what I say reflects on my department.
First off, anyone who WANTS to fight anyone is a complete moron and has no place inside those walls with that authority. I have only been involved with only one use of force so far. Respect is the most valuable currency in prison. I treat ALL offenders the same, with dignity and respect. I have earned respect from every one of the inmates at my facility. It is a small facility, about 570 inmates or so. I have absolutely no fear of going inside a Pod with over 40+ felons and BSing with them.
As for drugs, they get inside, that is a fact. The vast majority are brought in by visitors. I wont go into detail as to how they get in, but if you use your imagination, you wont be far off. The inmates, however, are strip searched after every visit, and we watch them use the bathroom when they get a restroom break. When you go to prison, you dont get a whole lot of privacy. Believe me, I have seen my fair share of nuts and butts.
We can drug test anyone at anytime for any reason. We can enter their cell at any time and search for anything we want for any reason. We run a pretty tight ship at my facility. We have entered a pod and went tier by tier, pulling them out and strip searching each one and then searched their cell, top to bottom. They look out their windows and see us coming in force and any contraband gets flushed before we can get it. If we were really determined, we would simply shut off the water to the Pod before they got a chance to flush anything. In the end, it doesnt really matter, we would prefer they flush it because they wouldnt get to use it and we wouldnt have to fill out a report. A win for us. Despite all this, drugs get in, it is an absolute fact.