What is contraband?
Contraband is essentially anything other than what the DOC allows prisoners to have or to do. The DOC requires that certain items do not enter prison grounds. If you are unsure of what you may or may not bring with you into the classroom, ask the officer on duty. You may enter with your course materials, but some restrictions apply (see below).
Contraband is a blanket term for goods which are illegal to import or export. Goods which are illegal to possess, such as stolen materials, are also called contraband. Typically, contraband will be confiscated without compensation if it is found by representatives of the law. Most nations have clear laws governing contraband, in the interest of free trade and public safety. Since contraband must be brought into or out of a nation by stealth, smuggling is often involved in the trade of contraband goods. The term is derived from the Latin contra, or “against” and bando, for a legal and public proclamation. The term was turned into contrabande in medieval French, and was borrowed by the English in 1529. Examples of contraband include illegal goods such as weapons, drugs, and other substances which may be banned by law. In the legal world, the word may also be used to discuss goods which have been obtained in an illegal way, although the goods themselves are not illegal. Stolen goods, for
