EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- The El Paso County Jail will scan all incoming inmates using a full-body scanner to check for illegal weapons or drugs smuggled underneath clothing, in body cavities or ingested.
The moves comes as a result of recent situations in which inmates either died or overdosed as a result of smuggling illegal substances. Within the past two weeks, an inmate needed immediate medical attention after swallowing at least three balls of methamphetamine.
The digital screening system provides both internal and external images, which deputies said gives inmates more privacy than strip searches and provide increased safety for the inmates and detention employees.
The county is the first in Colorado to use the technology, which was approved by the Department of Public Health and Environment.
Health officials said while there is radiation involved, it is only a fraction of the radiation received by ambient background radiation sources.
The scanners were installed in the pre-admit area of the intake and release section and went live Monday.
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