The purchase of a full body scanner to help prevent overdoses and contraband smuggling in the Bartholomew County Jail has been tentatively made by the Bartholomew County commissioners.
The commissioners approved a bid Monday from Engineering Group, LLC of San Diego, California to provide a TEK84 Full Body Scanner for $179,000, which includes a five-year warranty for parts and labor.
The commissioners’ only condition in approving the contract is that jail personnel carefully examine the bid to ensure the scanner is exactly what they want.
Only one company provided an acceptable bid. A Kentucky firm also submitted a proposal, but it was not publicly read into the record because the offer did not include a required bid bond, county attorney Grant Tucker said.
The TEK84 takes up about 18 square feet of space, while other models utilizing conveyor belts take up about 45 square feet of space, Bartholomew County Sheriff Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane said.
“It’s kind of like a phone booth,” Lane told the commissioners. “Inside, there are markings that show where they place their feet. The scan is basically a beam that scans them in four seconds and back.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
