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Jail not using its $243,000 scanner

Sharon Coolidge
scoolidge@enquirer.com
A sheriff’s deputy next to a scanner. The machine is not being used because state rules don’t permit it.

A Hamilton County sheriff's deputy was surprised when a body scanner showed an inmate had a screwdriver hidden inside him.

The deputy knew it could easily become a weapon, threatening the safety of his fellow deputies and inmates.

Thankfully the scanner caught it.

But that SecurPass machine – which cost $243,000 – is no longer being used because the Ohio Department of Health's rules don't permit it.

Sheriff Jim Neil called the rules antiquated; the state says it must approve it before it can be used because the machine uses radiation, which can be dangerous after repeated exposure.

"This is a safety and security issue for our employees, for the inmates, for everyone," Neil said. "I'm going to use every resource available to ensure we know what is coming into our jail."

He cited company data showing the equipment is not dangerous because it uses less radiation than an X-ray.

Department of Health spokeswoman Tessie Pollock said the state agency is willing to look at updating rules, but it still must regulate any machine that uses radiation.

One scanned image shows an inmate trying to smuggle a screwdriver into the jail by tucking it inside his body.

Neil can request a waiver, but hasn't, she said.

"Ohio administrative code prohibits the use of an X-ray unless it is prescribed by a physician," Pollock said.

SecurPass, a full-body digital X-ray scanning system, is used at 100 sites in 30 states, said Dennis Wolfe, of Virtual Imaging, Canon USA, the company that sells the equipment.

Hamilton County is the only sheriff's office in the state that has a scanner like this one, but other sheriff's offices have expressed interest, Wolfe said.

SecurPass looks similar to scanners used in airports.

When an inmate walks through, an X-ray-like image pops up on a nearby computer screen.

Thescanner gives off 400 times less radiation than a chest X-ray,much less than FDA guidelines allow for, Wolfe said.

Deputies who work nearby the scanner are kept several feet away when it's in use.

It was developed to use in gold and diamond mines to prevent worker theft. It was quickly apparent it could be used by law enforcement, Wolfe said.

"It's evolved into local jails," Wolfe said. "One of the biggest problems local jails have is contraband; this machine catches that."

In Hamilton County SecurPass doesn't replace strip-searches, which are done for all felony arrests and when there is probable cause.

It's used in addition to traditional searches, said Sheriff's Major Charmaine McGuffey, who oversees the jail.

Some of what they've found: pocket knives, cellphones, balloons full of drugs and in one case a man had hidden a .25-caliber gun inside rolls of fat.

"It's important that contraband not get into the jail," said McGuffey.

Former Sheriff Simon Leis used federal grant money to buy the machine in 2012 and immediately put it to use.

When Neil took office in January 2013 he continued using it.

Last August, during a routine state inspection, state workers discovered the machine and immediately ordered the sheriff's department to stop using it.

Neil called state Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, for help.

"I thought these kind of machines were everywhere, but they are a brand new thing," Seitz said.

"This issue is on the way to a resolution."

Pollock said her agency expects a variance request soon, but added the sheriff's office has known about that option since September.

Sheriff's officials said the process has been frustrating because the Department of Health for months has stuck to, in the sheriff's office words, "outdated policy."

After Seitz tried to mediate via a conference call, the Department of Health sent the sheriff's office 25 technical questions, most of which can only be answered by the manufacturer, according to sheriff's spokesman Mike Robison.

The sheriff's office is collecting the information.

"This is a common-sense issue where outdated policies are not in line with current technology," Neil said. ¦