The Bartholomew County Courthouse will soon have a baggage scanner installed next to the body scanners at the building’s public entrance, Bartholomew County Jail Commander Maj. John Martoccia said.
“If you come in with a briefcase, a purse or backpack, you put it (on a conveyor belt),” Martoccia said. “While it goes through, you will still walk through the metal detector.”
One advantage of the baggage scanner is that security personnel no longer have to rummage through purses, suitcases and backpacks – unless they see a suspected weapon, Martoccia said.
The commissioners agreed with the jail commander’s recommendation to purchase a unit from Laurus Systems, Inc., located near Baltimore, Maryland, for $30,228.
While that’s a few thousand dollars more than another offer made by a Los Angeles, California, company, the Laurus scanner is preferred because it is small enough to fit in with the other equipment at the courthouse entrance, Martoccia said.
