Two-hundred inmates at the state’s Berlin prison launched a food boycott Tuesday to protest a new visitation policy that took effect this week at all three of New Hampshire’s prisons.
The short-lived boycott did not result in any injuries or property damage, according to New Hampshire Department of Corrections spokesman Jeffrey Lyons. He said Thursday that the inmates who participated represent nearly one-third of the total population at the Berlin facility.
The new visitation policy, which prohibits kissing and limits hugs to three seconds, is the latest in a series of measures aimed at curbing illicit drug use behind prison walls.
Commissioner William Wrenn implemented the policy just weeks after four men in the state’s correctional system overdosed, one of them fatally on Jan. 6. Officials are still not saying how three men at the Concord prison got access to illicit drugs, or what took the life of 48-year-old Michael Robert Cullen at the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit in Manchester. Lyons said Thursday the investigation is ongoing, as the department awaits final toxicology results.
In addition to the food boycott, other inmates “verbally expressed their dissatisfaction with the changes,” Lyons wrote in a news release issued Thursday.
“For the safety of the institution and the public, the inmates were confined to their housing units for the remainder of Tuesday and Wednesday while correctional staff monitored and managed this situation in accordance with our security and disciplinary policies,” he said of the department’s response.
Normal operations resumed Thursday at the Berlin prison.
The department of corrections is facing backlash over the new visitation policy, which in addition to limiting human contact has resulted in the removal of vending machines and board games from visiting rooms. Inmates have previously used snack food and games to conceal contraband, officials said.
Former and current inmates, and their family members have contacted the Monitor in the days since the policy was announced to voice their concerns. Many have said the policy punishes children and others who have followed the rules, and does not adequately address all the ways drugs enter the prisons.
The conditions are in place for the visiting rooms only, meaning events sponsored by the department’s Family Connections Center will not be affected, Lyons said. Incarcerated parents accepted into the program earn “perks,” such as video visits with their children and the chance to record books to CD. However, those parents use the same visiting rooms as the general population.
Lyons said the department waited until the situation was under control to release information to the public.
“Our staff are trained to respond to an array of incidents or events when they occur in our facilities and we want to commend them on their excellent work of managing the situation.”