Body scanner brouhaha

A sheriff’s office proposal that would prevent drugs from being smuggled into the county jail has been deep-sixed at the commissioners’ office.

For several years, correction officers have asked the county to consider buying a body scanner that would detect drugs hidden in the body cavities of suspects booked into the Kootenai County jail.

And for several years, commissioners have called the cost of the equipment prohibitive.

Bill Brooks was among the commissioners to question if the sheriff’s office needed a $150,000 full body scanner that can detect miniscule items such as paper clips and pills, vials and weapons even if they are ingested.

Brooks is now fully on board to solve the problem, believing a body scanner is an essential tool.

Bootlegging illegal drugs, weapons or prohibited items into a jail is a felony that can add five years to a prison sentence.

The number of cases of jail smuggling has hovered around three cases per month over the past couple years — but those are only the ones that are discovered.

Last year, 35 cases were reported, and a year earlier 33 cases were charged, according to the sheriff’s office. There were 46 cases in 2017.

Jail officials say it’s dangerous because drugs improperly sealed and pushed into a body cavity or ingested could cause an overdose or death.

Either outcome could result in a lawsuit.

And smuggling drugs into a facility like a jail causes other problems.

“This is a safety issue,” Brooks said. “If you have drugs in a pod, the biggest and baddest people will want those drugs.”

The issue has caused a rift between the command staff and the Kootenai County commissioners.

In an email from Kootenai County Commissioner Leslie Duncan to the sheriff’s office, Duncan wanted a laundry list of questions answered before doling out the cost of a scanner. She asked what the ongoing costs were to install a scanner, the cost of training deputies and operating the machine — which produces X-ray-like files that must be stored.

She also questioned the legality of using a scanner if an inmate refuses, or how contraband — once located — is retrieved. In addition, Duncan wondered if a procedural manual was required for the jail.

Her role, she said, is to be fiscally responsible.

“The (commissioners) unanimously agreed not to entertain requests outside of the budget season,” Duncan said. “This is a very expensive piece of equipment, so I want to be diligent.”

Undersheriff Dan Mattos said jails in Idaho that employ body scanners, such as in Ada County, find them indispensable. Once inmates learn they must pass through a body scanner, they often voluntarily give up contraband, according to Ada County Sheriff Stephen Bartlett.

“The word that Ada County Jail has a scanner is spreading pretty quickly among our clientele,” Bartlett said in a letter to Kootenai County.

Mattos said his department will continue to work with commissioners to settle differences and try to find a funding solution.

“The need for a body scanner in the jail cannot be overstated,” Mattos said.