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WTF(Weird Trivia & Facts)  Friday, April 13, 2007 9:02 AM CDT
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Jail trying to curb inmate 'fishing'
By Associated Press
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PITTSBURGH -- You can't get a license for this kind of fishing, but Allegheny County Jail officials said that hasn't stopped some inmates from doing it.

Officials at the 16-story jail, which holds about 2,500 inmates, said some inmates have been dropping weighted strings out of small openings that let air into indoor-outdoor recreation areas in each pod of the facility.

People on the outside then tie contraband, including tobacco and marijuana, to the strings, which are then reeled in by the inmates.

Because the jail has no outside yard, it must allow fresh air to flow through the recreation areas by law, Maj. James Donis, a top jail official, told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette for a story Thursday.

The jail may install security cameras to try to catch the perpetrators. A barbed-wire fence was also installed on one side of the jail, near a trail that officials believe is used by people who provide the contraband.

Rural jails often have an internal yard that is easier to police, but that's not an option in the industrial area of Pittsburgh where the jail is located.

"It's one of the drawbacks of having an institution in an urban setting," Donis said.

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Reader comments on this story - 4 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Crooks: 1 Cops: 0 wrote on Apr 14, 2007 1:53 PM:

" Some "security consultant" or another was paid big money when this jail building was designed. Lets hear it for effective expenditure of the tax money directed to law enforcement. "

Candy wrote on Apr 14, 2007 7:58 AM:

" Maybe someone should find a line and put a real fish on it, a very rotton one at that. Some of these people in jail are very smart people, so why don't they use their brains to find a good job and not to do crime? "

Gee..... wrote on Apr 13, 2007 11:38 PM:

" Ever think of putting screen mesh over the vents,Pittsburgh? I know that's a novel idea but.................... "

Dr Evil wrote on Apr 13, 2007 4:24 PM:

" Yes. Caught me a Marlin!!! "
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