DRC Confiscated Major Contraband
Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
March 24, 2016

Contraband Definition
Administrative Rule (AR) 5120-9-55
distinguishes between two types of
contraband, “minor” and “major”:
 Minor Contraband: refers to items
possessed by an inmate without permission
and: (a) The location in which these items are
discovered is improper; or (b) The quantities
in which an allowable item is possessed is
prohibited; or (c) The manner or method by
which the item is obtained was improper; or
(d) An allowable item is possessed by an
inmate in an altered form or condition.
 Major Contraband: Refers to items
possessed by an inmate which, by their
nature, use, or intended use, pose a threat to
security or safety of inmates, staff or public, or
disrupt the orderly operation of the facility.
Major contraband also includes any
STG/gang material (not included in this brief),
deadly weapons, drugs of abuse, intoxicating
liquor, cash, etc.
 Inmates found guilty of possession of
contraband receive a conduct report and a
disciplinary sanction, the severity of which
depends on the nature of the contraband.

FY 2015 Breakdown of
Confiscations
Cell
Phones
15.7%

Drugs/
Alcohol
51.3%

Weapons
15.7%
Tobacco
17.3%

Contraband and Security
 The amount of confiscated major contraband
has risen over time. While this could indicate
overall greater presence of contraband, it more
likely indicates that staff members are actively
searching for and reducing contraband on
the compound. For example, RICI engages in
monthly inmate property checks, which likely
has resulted in the higher amount of contraband
found and confiscated.
 Unsurprisingly, major contraband has a strong
correlation with violence. Illegal substances and
weapons in particular are commodities in prison
that can result in conflicts between rival gangs
or individual inmates. Confiscating contraband
is an important goal of prison security.
 Contraband enters an institution through staff,
visitors, the mail, or is simply thrown over the
fence. In the prison economy, supply and
demand dictate prices significantly inflated
beyond street value. DRC has increased efforts
to intercept major contraband.

Key Statistics
The number of confiscations of cellphones,
drugs/alcohol, weapons, and tobacco increased
63.9 percent from FY 2013-2015.
In FY 2015, there were 6,497 occurrences of
confiscated cellphones, drugs/alcohol, weapons,
and tobacco. Drugs/Alcohol were the most
prevalent of the four categories.
Ross Correctional Institution had the highest
number of confiscations from FY 2010-2015 with
3,188.
Richland Correctional Institution, a Level 1/2
security facility, confiscated more cellphones,
drugs/alcohol, weapons, and tobacco than all but
one of the Level 3 facilities.
Level 3 facilities generally confiscated the
greatest number of cellphones, drugs/alcohol,
weapons, and tobacco.

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Major Contraband

Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
Riffe Center, 77 S. High Street, 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, PHONE (614) 466-6649, FAX (614) 466-6929

Page 3

Confiscated Major Contraband by Year
FY 2010 – 2015
7,000

The number of items confiscated increased by
63.9 percent from FY 2013 to FY 2015.

6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

2010

2011
Cell Phones

2012
Drugs/ Alcohol

2013
Tobacco

2014

2015

Weapons

* Data provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
** Tobacco data was not available for FY 2010-2013.
***The above data includes only the stated four categories and does not include other types of major
contraband.

Confiscated Major Contraband by Type
FY 2010 – 2015
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000

11,255

4,000

6,982

2,000
2,637

2,590

Cell Phones

Tobacco

0
Drugs/Alcohol

Weapons

* Data provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
** Tobacco data was not available for FY 2010-2013.
***The above data includes only the stated four categories and does not include other types of major contraband.
Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
Riffe Center, 77 S. High Street, 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, PHONE (614) 466-6649, FAX (614) 466-6929

Page 4

Total Confiscated Cell Phones, Drugs/Alcohol, Tobacco, and Weapons
FY 2010 - 2015
RCI
MANCI
RICI
NCCC
BECI
TOCI
WCI
TCI
LOCI
LAECI
AOCI
LECI
NCI
PCI
SOCF
CCI
SCC
MCI
MACI
LORCI
GCC
OSP
CRC
DCI
FMC
ORW
NERC

Ross Correctional Institution had the highest
total amount of confiscated contraband from
FY 2010 – FY 2015 with 3,188 items confiscated.

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200
2010

1,400
2011

1,600
2012

1,800
2013

2,000

2,200

2014

2015

2,400

2,600

2,800

3,000

* Data provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
** Tobacco data was not available for FY 2010-2013.
***The above data includes only the stated four categories and does not include other types of major contraband.
Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
Riffe Center, 77 S. High Street, 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, PHONE (614) 466-6649, FAX (614) 466-6929

3,200

3,400

Page 5

Rate of Confiscated Major Contraband (per 1,000 inmates)
FY 2015
450

Richland Correctional Institution, a Level 1/2
security facility had a higher rate of
confiscated contraband than all but one of
the Level 3 facilities.

400

350

Ross Correctional Institution had the
highest rate of confiscated contraband
with 410.1.

300

250

200

150

100

50

Level
1/2

Level
3

Level
4/5

Reception

ORW

NERC

FMC

DCI

LORCI

CRC

SOCF

OSP

WCI

TOCI

TCI

RCI

MANCI

LECI

SCC

RICI

PCI

NCI

NCCC

MCI

MACI

LOCI

LAECI

GCC

CCI

BECI

AOCI

0

Female/
Medical

* Data provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
** Note RIB convictions does not represent total number of incidents as an inmate could have been found guilty of two or more rule violations in one
incident.
***The above data includes only drugs/alcohol, weapons, cellphones, and tobacco and does not include other types of major contraband.
Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
Riffe Center, 77 S. High Street, 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, PHONE (614) 466-6649, FAX (614) 466-6929

Page 6

Confiscated Cellphones, Drugs/Alcohol, Tobacco, Weapons by Security Level
FY 2010-2015
Level 1 (minimum) and Level 2 (medium) institutions had the highest percent of
confiscated cellphones, drugs/alcohol, tobacco, and weapons from FY 2010 – FY 2015.
However, Level 3 facilities account for a fifth of the DRC population and 44.5 percent
of confiscated contraband for these categories.

Level 4 & 5
3.5%

Reception
1.1%

Level 3
44.5%

Female/Medical
0.5%

Level 1 & 2
50.4%

* Data provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
Riffe Center, 77 S. High Street, 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, PHONE (614) 466-6649, FAX (614) 466-6929

Page 7

Confiscated Cell Phones, Drugs/Alcohol, Tobacco, and Weapons Statistics
2013

2014

2015

TOTAL

Institution

Number

Rate

Number

Rate

Number

Rate

Number

AOCI
BECI
CCI
CRC
DCI
FMC
GCC
LAECI
LECI
LOCI
LORCI
MACI
MANCI
MCI
NCCC
NCI
NERC
ORW
OSP
PCI
RCI
RICI
SCC
SOCF
TCI
TOCI
WCI

105
285
104
9
0
5
31
438
114
203
16
20
275
43
250
92
1
3
7
123
426
344
128
109
147
450
235

66.7
105.3
38.5
5.1
0.0
10.7
16.0
248.4
44.4
89.1
10.7
8.6
110.0
16.6
94.0
36.8
1.8
1.3
14.4
57.4
213.9
137.3
63.3
81.7
135.2
351.2
167.1

233
312
130
19
5
7
14
297
234
261
35
46
356
97
467
168
0
7
7
217
550
405
177
101
377
418
233

143.7
114.4
46.7
10.5
5.5
14.5
7.0
167.4
91.6
114.5
25.4
19.4
141.5
37.5
174.0
67.1
0.0
2.8
15.6
102.4
265.2
161.1
85.4
83.5
247.5
365.0
166.8

260
283
216
11
3
8
27
94
169
292
50
69
667
88
565
291
3
8
16
280
880
879
158
146
428
311
295

169.3
104.6
79.7
6.6
3.3
13.4
13.5
53.4
74.6
128.0
32.5
27.3
254.4
34.3
211.0
116.9
5.1
3.2
36.0
133.6
410.1
336.9
77.2
119.5
283.1
288.2
213.0

598
880
450
39
8
20
72
829
517
756
101
135
1,298
228
1,282
551
4
18
30
620
1,856
1,628
463
356
952
1,179
763

Total

3,963

79.5

5,173

102.4

6,497

128.7

15,633

Correctional Institution Inspection Committee
Riffe Center, 77 S. High Street, 15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, PHONE (614) 466-6649, FAX (614) 466-6929