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Todd Gilchrist

Contraband: Prevention, Detection and Enforcement

Sergeant Todd Gilchrist started his career in Public Safety as a part time firefighter in 1989 and became an Emergency Medical Technician in 1991. After graduating from the police academy, he started his career in law enforcement as a Corrections Deputy for the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office in 1995. Todd was promoted to Sergeant in 2007 where he has supervised the correction, court services and transport divisions. He is also an instructor in Corrections and Emergency Medical Services and serves on the West Michigan Criminal Justice Corrections Training Consortium. Todd graduated from Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command in 2012 where he was awarded the Franklin M. Kreml leadership award.

LATEST ARTICLES
Once you’ve found contraband, you might be wondering what to do next. Here are some options you have regarding enforcement, but make sure to check your facility’s policies!
Prison technology is advancing at a breakneck pace, but basic techniques for contraband search are as valuable as ever
We can help each other be better officers by offering advice or tips; the more we work together, the safer we are
Think you’re done searching? Think again – check out these five areas, and make sure to give them special attention when you’re looking for potential contraband
Not all contract employees are bad apples; there are still staff members that can be invaluable, but this only happens if we teach them policies and procedures, along with contraband security
It may not seem like a big thing, but how we allow inmates to dress affects how much or little contraband they can carry
Many people have a misconception of what some types of body scanners can do
Good deeds are not well thought out and give prisoners an opportunity to take advantage of the officer’s good-hearted actions
Inmates are creative when it comes to hiding contraband, so we too must be creative in seeking it out
It’s up to us, the corrections administration and staff, to keep contraband from entering our facilities