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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- For the inmates housed at the El Paso County Jail this is how their time starts: shoes off, chains removed, metal detector, and a strip search.

But the physical searches that used to be standard protocol was putting inmates and staff at risk.

"Knives, scissors, razor blades and you'd be surprised what individuals put in their mouths," Paula Presley, El Paso County Undersheriff, said.

Metal detectors and the visual searches were limited and making it difficult to catch inmates who were ingesting or concealing contraband, creating a dangerous and possibly deadly environment for inmates and deputies.

But it wasn't just weapons jail officials were worried about. Two weeks before the new SecurPass Full Body Scan was up and running, an inmate swallowed three bags of methamphetamine.

So the El Paso County jail eliminated strip searches, and for the past three months has been using body scans, which provide both an internal and external check for contraband concealed in the body, on the body or on clothing.

"Our concern is to harm a deputy. That may be their intent if they know they're going to jail, and they may use [a weapon]," Presley said.

Once an inmate has undergone a full body scan through the SecurPass, an image will appear highlighting any possible security issues.

The scanned images are so detailed you can see metal rods used in a leg surgery.

"It's definitely more thorough as far as cavity searches, or that kind of thing. There's gonna be nothing coming into the jail anymore," Kevin Ridlehoover, inmate at the El Paso County Jail, said.

Keeping the jail clean and contraband-free is the goal because you never know if an inmate will resort to extreme measures.

The SecurPass full body scan is the first of its kind in Colorado.

The machine cost $210,000 and was paid for by funding from housing Immigration and Customs Enforcement inmates, also known as ICE.