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Bill would criminalize possession of contraband in prison, expand penalties for assaults with bodily fluids and add drone prohibitions; prosecutors, corrections
Summary
House Bill 702 would redefine illegal articles in correctional settings to criminalize possession as well as transfer, add a prohibition on drones over facilities to aid investigations, and raise penalties for assaults with bodily fluids in prison. The Department of Justice and corrections officials supported the measures at committee testimony.
Representative Carrie Seacens Crowe opened the hearing on House Bill 702 by describing recurring problems with contraband deliveries and surveillance via drones at Montana correctional facilities. She said other states have criminalized drone flights over prisons to stem deliveries of contraband and the bill would allow law enforcement to pursue investigations.
The bill also seeks to change the existing criminal provision that makes transfer of illegal articles to an inmate a felony by making possession of enumerated illegal items a crime in itself. Representative Seacens Crowe urged the committee to specify…
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