CLAREMORE, Okla. — While guns and knives are harder to smuggle into jails, dangerous drugs like fentanyl are easier to conceal.
The Rogers County Sheriff’s Office is tackling the growing problem with a body scanning machine.
The scanner shows jailers what’s inside a person instead of a routine pat-down.
Corporal TJ Richardville said this machine is a game changer.
“It’s helped us numerous times in solving the problem of, yes, they’ve got something, so we are able to isolate them before it’s introduced to the facility, and it’s protected us in that way and protected them by not being able to use those things,” he said.
Jailers told 2 News some inmates use any means necessary to get dangerous substances and contraband inside.
“They use basic things. I mean they use Ziploc bags they use Saran wrap and they will put it inside themselves, not necessarily just swallowing it, they will put it other places,” said Richardville.
How does the scan work?
It’s a simple 30-second body scan, similar to what is used at airports. The scan produces an image that reveals if anything foreign is hidden inside the body.
Jailers said one of the biggest dangers they're seeing right now is fentanyl.
2 News Oklahoma did some digging and discovered the drug led to four out of five opioid-related overdose deaths in 2022.
Undersheriff Jon Sappington said the machine is incredibly successful, “Before we had this machine in place, we had four individuals who overdosed that we brought in Narcan and performing medical procedures back there trying to resuscitate and then once we put this machine in place, the only time we’ve had one since is the week that this machine went down."
The machines can cost up to $120,000.
Earlier this month, 2 News spoke with Wagoner County after someone smuggled fentanyl into the jail, and two people ended up hospitalized.
Sheriff Elliott said he knew how the substance was able to go undetected. Without body scanners used by other counties in Green Country, he said, materials hidden inside inmates' bodies can't be detected by jailers so easily.
"But with this medical grade scanner we can put inmates on it do a scan, and then the detention officer themselves will be able to see if there's little baggies up in them or if there's something in that body that should not be there," the sheriff said.
"I think this is a piece of technology that will save lives. I think this is a piece of technology that the county needs to invest in because the more we can keep injuries out of our jail and overdoses out of our jail, the less of liability there is on the county."
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