Monterey County Jail implements new technique to detect smuggling

One big job at the Monterey County Jail is keeping drugs and other contraband out. It is why the hail rolled out two new body scanners last week.

“The biggest one is going to be narcotics. Narcotics, weapons, that’s what we’re trying to find – (and) cellphones,” Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Commander John Thornburg said.

Unlike their previous scanners that only show images on the surface, these scan the whole body giving officers a look inside – cracking down on people inserting drugs or other contraband inside their body.

Thornburg says “This catches stuff hidden inside someone – if they put it in a part of the body you visually can’t check.”

The whole scan lasts about eight to ten seconds, and every inmate being processed in the jail goes through it.

Jeannine Pacioni with the Monterey County District Attorney’s office says this type of smuggling is not an uncommon practice in jails and prisons. She tells KION the DA’s office has had 63 cases referred to them in 2018, where the suspect tried to bring in contraband hidden inside their body. That number is for all facilities in the county.

These drugs are on their way to jails or prisons that are often filled with people struggling with addiction.

“The cravings set in and people wants drugs and they want alcohol,” Gordon Horne, a Licensed Advanced Alcohol Drug Counselor and Clinical Supervisor, said.

Horne says cutting down on the supply of drugs entering the jail can have a big positive effect. While people might want to be clean, their “hijacked brain,” he calls it, takes over when a fix is possible.

“The Sheriff’s office stepping in and saying ‘we’re going to make these less available’ will probably result in lives being saved,’ specifically when it comes to the drug heroin.”

We reached out to the ACLU to see if they have any privacy concerns about these machines. They have not immediately responded to our request for comment.