Officers on patrol at the Drumheller Institution found a bag of surprises two weeks ago, when they discovered a "large amount" of contraband thrown over a fence. On April 10, officers found cell phones, illegal drugs, and tobacco had been tossed onto the prison grounds. Estimated prison value for the contraband seized is $115,000. According to John Shannon of the institution, incidents like this do not happen as frequently as with other prisons. “We just hope the staff do their job, and they did,” Shannon says. Correctional Services Canada has a number of tools available to control the flow of drugs through prison gates. These include searches of offenders and visitors, ion scanners, drug dogs, and as per this situation; searches of building and cells. The Drumheller Institution currently accommodates 512 medium security and 69 minimum security inmates.

Barrister and solicitor Colin Kloot, right, took the witness stand last Wednesday to rehearse his role of “Merlin the Magician” in front of legal librarian Ingrid Thornton playing the judge for the comedic mock trial. This is one of the activities at the upcoming Law Day event on Saturday, April 18.  The family event is located at the Drumheller Court House and will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with fun activities, food and information for all ages  to learn about the Canadian justice system.