Body scanning is the most effective means of detecting and confiscating contraband to keep prisons safe.
What cannot pass through the doors cannot cause any harm; however, the technology in full body scanners continues to change, begging the question: how many prisons are still unsafe, either due to their use of outdated technology or because they don’t use body scanners at all?
While any body scanner is better than no scanner at all, safely and quickly detecting contraband like drugs and weapons continues to be an issue for prisons.
For many facilities, the answer may lie in upgrading to more advanced body scanning machines.
What Are The Concerns With Body Scanning?
Safe body scanning in prisons is a 3-pronged concern.
Safety from accurate detection of contraband is the main focus, but there are other factors that must be considered as well.
The safety of security staff while operating full body scanners and performing security screening is also a concern that facilities must factor in, as is the safety of those walking through the scanners with respect to radiation amounts.
Scanning speed and accuracy also remain a safety concern with some older technology.
Recent Versions Address These Concerns
Fortunately, recent advancements in full body scanner technology address all of these issues.
Improved technology that delivers only miniscule, safe doses of radiation even at their highest power are available, increasing safety for security personnel operating the machines, along with those passing through the scanners repeatedly.
More importantly, advanced scanners that can now differentiate between physical materials of all kinds including drugs and paper currency, versus what are parts of the human body, provide even greater safety.
Using New Scanners Has Reduced Contraband
With greater scanning and detection capabilities from newer, state-of-the-art body scanners including sophisticated systems that automatically warn operators about areas of suspicion that cannot be identified, prisons using these machines have experienced dramatic reductions in contraband still passing through security points.
Greater accuracy and a lesser need to do physical searches provides greater safety for security personnel, as well.
Is It Time For Your Facility To Upgrade Your Scanners?
Ultimately, with the availability of this safer and more accurate technology, prison facilities should question whether their current scanners are doing a good enough job at detecting contraband and preventing safety issues or if there is room for improvement.
If the answer is the latter, it may be time to address upgrading to more advanced body scanners, especially in facilities where the type of contraband getting in presents significant safety concerns to both inmates and employees.