New Jail Scanner to Prevent Smuggling Contraband

The jail used to only use a metal detector when processing inmates

CASS COUNTY, N.D. — The Cass County Jail has a new scanner that’s changing the way inmates are processed.

The scanner works like an X–ray machine that’s more detailed than airport scanners, but not as detailed as a medical X–ray.

It detects differences in density throughout the body, and can pick up anything either on or inside a person, not matter what the material.

“We can see bones, the lungs, the organs, anything that’s a foreign object that’s not supposed to be there,” said Capt. Andy Frobig, the jail administrator.

Before the jail got the scanner, the staff was only using a metal detector when processing inmates.

“If something was made of a composite material, or plastic or something like that, we would not be able to detect that, even small pieces of metal. They’re usually not sensitive enough to pick that up,” Frobig said.

The scanner cost the county about $150,000.

“We knew we had to do something to detect and prevent the things from coming in,” Frobig said.

The scanner has been tested and approved by the Department of Health’s Radiological Services.

“The X–ray output is actually very small. The equivalent radiation is approximately 16 minutes at 30,000 feet in a jet airliner,” Frobig said.

He says the machine has so far deterred some inmates from smuggling contraband into the jail.

“If they volunteer to turn something over, that can mitigate the effect or consequences of what they have. Once they bring something inside the jail, they can have increased penalties,” Frobig said.

The scanner is also used in the federal prison system and in several jails across the country.