DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – Changes are coming to the Dauphin County Prison. There’s a new method to prevent drugs from getting inside.

This comes after an inmate allegedly brought in drugs, leading to the overdose of another inmate.

The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office says Richard Weikel is facing charges including drug delivery resulting in death after allegedly bringing fentanyl he believed was heroin into the prison.

The director of Criminal Justice John Bey says as Weikel was being admitted to the prison, a corrections officer did check his shoes, but missed the hidden drugs.

“It’s not a good feeling to know that our officers did check their shoes and they missed it,” said Bey.

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Authorities say Weikel gave the drugs to Michael Butler, a fellow inmate who later died of an overdose in January.

On Wednesday, during a packed prison board meeting, Bey says the prison instituted new methods to prevent smuggling of drugs.

“We initially placed an emphasis on searching of shoes right after that incident. But to mitigate the issue entirely, we purchased crocs, croc style shoes for both males and females that upon being on intake, their regular shoes will be taken,” said Bey.

Another method already in place, bringing trash bins inside so drugs can’t be left in bins.

“We found that in some cases drugs were being placed in the trash for inmates to collect upon doing the rounds around the building to collect trash,” said Bey.

Also, scanning mail so it appears on inmates’ tablets without running the risk of drugs getting inside. Staffing has also been an ongoing issue. On Wednesday, the prison board approved lowering the correction officer hiring age from 21 to 18.

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