BENTONVILLE -- The Benton County sheriff's office has been using a body scanner on prisoners for the past 60 days, and it has prevented at least some contraband from being carried into the jail, officials said.
Jeremy Guyll, jail captain, said the scanner has detected a methamphetamine pipe, pill bottles and a razor blade.
"Most of it has been drug paraphernalia," Guyll said.
Officials with the sheriff's office demonstrated the scanner Thursday.
The scanner also discovered a woman who had a bottle of urine inside her body, he said. She was scheduled for a drug test, he said.
Guyll said jail personnel also have found contraband that was thrown away.
All people booked into the jail are scanned, as are prisoners returning from court or work details, said Sgt. Shannon Jenkins, the sheriff's office public information officer. Any prisoner who leaves the jail will be scanned upon return to the lockup, she said.
Jenkins said the body scanner -- a Compass DV -- can detect if a person swallowed methamphetamine, and deputies can immediately seek medical attention for the person.
Jail deputies have run 3,000 scans and obtained eight positive hits, she said.
Several jail deputies are certified to run the scans, Guyll said.
Terry Wright, the regional sales manager for ADANI Systems, said the company has a contract with the Arkansas Department of Correction and provides the department with 15 body scanners. Wright said Benton County is the first county in the state to embrace the technology.
The Benton County Quorum Court approved the $165,000 to buy the scanner.
Maj. Bob Bersi with the sheriff's office said there have been no complaints concerning privacy issues related to body scans. Bersi believes that privacy issues are moot because the body scans reduce the number of cavity searches officers must conduct.
Wright said the radiation from the scanner is minimal.
"You would have to go through the machine 100 times before it equals a dental X-ray," he said.
Wright said there's also no harm to pregnant women or people with pacemakers if they are scanned at the jail.
Bersi said officers won't scan pregnant women.
People have to stand still as they are scanned, so Guyll said deputies won't scan intoxicated individuals until they are sober and can stand without falling and hurting themselves.
Metro on 06/21/2019