The Tek84 Intercept shows the scan of Leo Black. Among other things, the machine picked up Black's titanium knee replacements.
SARATOGA - For the Carbon County Sheriff's Office, safety at the county jail for both inmates and staff is tantamount. Now, the facility has a new piece of equipment which can better ensure safety in the future.
Carbon County is the first in Wyoming to have the Tek84 Intercept full body scanner.
The scanner, which Tek84 touts as being the only American-made apparatus of its kind, was purchased with the help of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
In total, the county paid less than $150,000 for the scanner.
"The county commissioners were very gracious when we brought this up and we brought up the price," said Captain Leo Black of the Carbon County Sheriff's Office. "There was no objection to it."
Black and Lieutenant Robin Umberger-Umberger was promoted to lieutenant from corporal on November 1- gave a brief demonstration of the machine on October 27.
What makes this scanner different from others of its kind, said Black, is the process.
While other scanners will scan horizontally, bombarding a subject with radiation, the Intercept scans vertically.
"We can do this 1,000 times to a person in a year," said Black. "It's the lowest amount of radiation."
To demonstrate the machine, Black stood in the scanner while Umberger entered all the necessary information.
The Intercept can be tied to a specific subject, if that person is a repeat offender, so that the information doesn't have to be entered each and every time.
Once Black was scanned, one could see the various items on his person from his radio to a pocket knife and even his titanium knee replacements.
Officers can flip through various views following the scan to look for air pockets to show if something is hidden on, or in, the body.
Umberger said the machine can also scan property, such as packages, for contraband.
And for anyone thinking about the old fashioned "file in a cake" routine, it can scan those as well.
As of yet, the scanner hasn't been used on an inmate while the Carbon County Attorney's Office goes over the policy.
Once it is in use, however, Black said it will be very useful.
Recently, a subject had been detained and was found to have a "vast amount" of drops on their person. In the future, once this scanner is in full operation, it will be able to detect such items with ease.
"This saves us a lot of lives and makes it easier for us," said Black.
Reader Comments(0)