Support Letters from professional orgaNIZATIONS

Appendix F: 
Support Letters from Professional Organizations 

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Dear Colleagues:
In partnership with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Urban Institute, the American
Correctional Association (ACA) is pleased to invite you to participate in the National Survey of
Correctional Contraband. As everyone who work in or with correctional facilities knows,
contraband is a cause of serious concern for the safety and security of inmates and correctional
staff. However, we know little about the ways or extent to which contraband flows through our
facilities or the types of interdiction strategies that are exercised across jurisdictions and have
proven successful.
By working alongside NIJ and Urban, ACA strongly encourages the field to advance the
understanding on this under-researched topic. For nearly 150 years, the ACA has championed
the cause of corrections and correctional effectiveness. We believe there are critical knowledge
gaps in the area of correctional contraband today, and this research initiative will pave the way
for the field to develop effective practices and strategies to detect contraband and prevent it from
being brought into facilities.
The goal of the National Survey of Correctional Contraband is to develop a systematic
understanding of contraband issues in the U.S. through a survey on correctional facilities. We
believe the NSCC will generate an important knowledgebase that informs correctional policy and
practice in the management of contraband. The ACA offers full support for this cause and urges
your support for it as well.
Please consider participating in the National Survey of Correctional Contraband and sharing your
feedback, experiences, and concerns about contraband issues with the research team. We
appreciate your consideration to be a part of this important initiative.
Sincerely,

James A. Gondles, Jr., CAE
Executive Director

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1135 PROFESSIONAL COURT | HAGERSTOWN, MD 21740-5853
PHONE: 301.790.3930 | FAX: 301.790.2941

John W. Johnson Sr., MBA, CJM, CPM
President
Miami, Florida
Ronaldo D. Myers, MA, CJM, CCT
President-Elect
Portsmouth, Virginia
Elias Diggins, CJM, CCE
1st Vice President
Denver, Colorado
Marsha P. Travis, CJM, CCM
2nd Vice President
Nashville, Tennessee
Amanda Lambert, CJM
3rd Vice President
Manassas, Virginia
Darren Sieger, MS
Secretary
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Jeffery L. Newton, CJM
Treasurer
North Prince George, Virginia
Wayne Dicky, CJM
Immediate Past President
Bryan, Texas
Robert J. Kasabian, MBA
Executive Director
Hagerstown, Maryland

September 28, 2017

Dear Colleagues:
For over three decades, the American Jail Association (AJA) has supported
professionals working in jails and local correctional facilities across the country.
Many of these professionals have encountered issues relating to contraband,
which has serious implications for the safety and security of jails, as well as the
wellbeing of both inmates and staff. Despite the significant presence of
contraband in jails, there is limited understanding and research on the topic. Very
little is known about the prevalence of different types of contraband, nor do we
know much about effective ways to combat contraband and keep it out of our
facilities.
With that in mind, AJA strongly supports the aims of the National Survey of
Correctional Contraband, led by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the
Urban Institute. As leaders in the fields of correctional research, policy, and
practice, NIJ and Urban are well-suited to fill a critical gap in the availability of
relevant, comprehensive data on the type and extent of contraband in correctional
facilities. The survey findings will serve as a resource on contraband issues in the
U.S. and will pave the way for corrections to develop effective contraband
detection and interdiction modalities.
Your contributions to the National Survey of Correctional Contraband in the form
of survey feedback will enable Urban to produce relevant findings for the field on
contraband issues and effective interdiction. AJA highly anticipates the results of
this research and urges your support for and participation in the survey.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Kasabian, MBA
Executive Director

Future Conference Site

| SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA • April 22–25, 2018

E -MAIL: [email protected] | W EBSITE: www.aja.org

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ASSOCIATION OF STATE CORRECTIONAL
ADMINISTRATORS
Executive Committee
President, Leann Bertsch
Vice President, John Wetzel
Treasurer, Colette Peters
Past President, A.T. Wall

Regional Representatives
Northeast, Scott Semple
Southern, Jefferson Dunn
Midwest, Heidi Washington
Western, Rick Raemisch

Dear Colleagues:
Since its inception over 30 years ago, the Association of State Correctional Administrators
(ASCA) has been committed to supporting the work of leaders in corrections across North
America. Our goal is to increase public safety by utilizing correctional best practices,
accountability, and providing opportunities for people to change.
While it is widely recognized that contraband poses a threat to safety and security within
correctional facilities, there is limited information about what types of contraband interdiction
modalities are exercised across jurisdictions and have proven successful, let alone what type of
contraband is found in correctional facilities in the U.S. Given how significant of an issue
contraband is for all facilities, this lack of knowledge of best practices around contraband
prevention, detection, and removal is an obvious problem.
ASCA is proud to support the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Urban Institute as they
launch the National Survey of Correctional Contraband. NIJ and Urban recognize the need to
advance the field’s understanding on this important topic. We agree with them that there are
knowledge gaps in the area of correctional contraband today, and believe this research initiative
will produce timely information on the scope of contraband and contraband issues as well as the
practices and strategies employed to keep contraband out of facilities.
ASCA fully supports this important research and believes it will inform correctional policy and
practice in the management of contraband. We appreciate your consideration to participate in the
survey and share your feedback, experiences, and concerns about important contraband issues
with the research team.
Sincerely,

Wayne T. Choinski, ASCA

ASCA Headquarters * 1105 2nd Street South * Nampa Idaho, 83651
Phone * (208) 608-5827 WWW.ASCA.NET
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