A body scanner capable of detecting contraband inside a human body could be operational at the Bartholomew County Jail by the middle of this summer.
The seven-member Bartholomew County Council unanimously approved the purchase of a TEK 84 Full Body Scanner at a meeting Tuesday night. Cost is expected to be between $179,000 and $180,000.
“This is long overdue,” council member and former two-term sheriff Mark Gorbett said.
The council approved appropriating $130,000 from local income tax revenue already earmarked for use in a correctional facility to go towards the purchase. The remaining $50,000 will come from commissary funds that can be spent at the discretion of current Sheriff Matt Myers without council approval.
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Tax money appropriated Tuesday will eventually be reimbursed through funds obtained from inmates using phone services at the jail, Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane said. Additional revenue could be earned in the future by providing additional services such as iPads, Myers said.
At this time, it appears the body scanner may become operational at roughly the same time an older and currently unused section of the jail is reopened, Lane said.
“We’re hoping for July,” Myers said.
Council president Matt Miller said he was concerned that the scanner does emit a very low dose of radiation, and the machine may be operated at times by individuals with minimal training.
Miller said he voted in favor of the purchase after consulting with attorneys and sheriff departments in other counties.
“I don’t see where we have a choice,” the council president said. “We’re in a bad spot, and there aren’t a lot of other options.”
Over the last three years, the Bartholomew County Jail has had six drug overdose cases, including two methamphetamine overdose deaths, involving drugs smuggled in by females using their body cavities to conceal narcotics.
Between February and March, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office arrested three females on multiple drug charges who were found to have drugs concealed in a body cavity.
Most recently, deputies arrested four people following an investigation into a group of people with a plan to smuggle illegal drugs into the jail in two women’s body cavities last month. Drugs were found in the body cavities of both females.
In regard to potential legal consequences regarding the use of the machine, Myers said insurance representatives have told him they believe the benefits of the body scanner outweigh potential liabilities of not having the machine.
Since weapons can be smuggled in through a body cavity, council member Jorge Morales described the scanner as a safety issue for both correctional officers and inmates.
Meanwhile, a rough draft of a policy that states who will — and will not — be required to go through the scanner has already been created, Myers said.
While most of the policy was developed at other jails with body scanners, it is still being fine-tuned for Bartholomew County, Lane said.
There is agreement that Community Corrections personnel, as well as jail staff, will be trained to use the scanner, so those on work release or another temporary release program will be scanned every time they return to the jail, Lane said.
“If we have a reason through intelligence to scan anyone who comes in, we will do that,” Myers said.
The Tech 84 Full Body Scanner is most appropriate for the Bartholomew County Jail because of its comparatively small size, Lane said.
The machine will not require the conversion of a jail cell or an entire room to house it, so no additional renovation costs will be required, Lane said.
The scanner is a self-contained, software-based unit that completes a full-body scan in eight seconds, Lane said. He told council members the cost includes employee training, as well as a five-year parts and labor warranty.
However, the Bartholomew County Commissioners are required to seek competitive bids from different companies — and Lane said it will take about a month before those bids can be sought.
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The scanner the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department hopes to buy is the TEK 84 Full Body Scanner which includes a five-year parts and labor warranty and employee training. The scanner is a self-contained, software-based unit that completes a full-body scan in eight seconds.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department plans to use money that inmates pay for telephone calls out of the jail to fund paying for the scanner.
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