Keller said more than a dozen scans have identified contraband on people, including needles and drugs both swallowed and inserted in rectums, but fewer people are attempting to smuggle because of the machine.
“The numbers of positive scans that we’re currently getting are declining because they became aware we had this system,” he said. “Many of them have ceased trying to bring drugs in.”
Pat-downs were the most thorough search a county officer could conduct before the scanners were approved, Keller said. Ohio law prohibits pre-sentencing facilities like the county jails from performing strip searches without probable cause.
“The scanner permits a non-intrusive measure to allow us to see if there is something in or on a person that a pat-down might miss,” he said.
Montgomery County installed a new machine that will go into service as soon as it is certified by the Ohio Department of Health.
The cost of the systems has dropped in half over the last couple of years — now about $120,000 — making them more affordable for counties. Butler and Miami counties also added jail scanners during the past year. Warren County is holding off on a scanner until construction of a new $50 million jail planned for 2020.
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