(PRESS RELEASE) – On Thursday, November 12, 2020, the Anoka County Jail completed installation and began using the first full body
scanner within a detention setting in the state of Minnesota. After the Minnesota Legislature permitted the use of full
body scanners in corrections facilities, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Minnesota Department of
Health to be approved to purchase the Intercept Tek84 Full Body Scanner.
The number of contraband items that the Anoka County detention deputies have confiscated has continued to increase
year after year. Since staff and inmate safety is the number one priority, these numbers have substantiated the need for
new ways to locate items such as cellphones, weapons, and drugs before they can enter the jail.
In most cases, jails use metal detectors and pat searches to locate and collect contraband before they enter facilities.
However, inmates are continuously finding new ways to smuggle contraband, and these search methods are unable to find
substances and items that do not have metal components and/or may be smuggled internally within the inmate.
The Intercept Tek84 Full Body Scanner allows for transmission imaging of internal concealment within four seconds of
scanning, and a high-quality on-screen photo for examination by highly trained jail staff. Staff will immediately be able
to locate any foreign substance located on or within the body. The ability to find this contraband quickly will not only
improve jail safety, but also potentially save inmates’ lives if they are internally concealing drugs that are leaking. In
these cases, the inmate is at risk of inadvertently overdosing on drugs.
This initiative to increase the safety of the jail has been well supported by Sheriff James Stuart. “Our ongoing
commitment to safety and security goes beyond our wide array of services ‘on the street’, but also includes our courts and
our jail. Our Jail leadership, led by Commander Pacholl was instrumental over the last few years in getting the laws
changed so that we could provide a safer, more secure environment for our staff and inmates in the jail. By allowing us
to be able to use the body scanner technology, we can better detect and prevent illegal and dangerous contraband from
being brought into our facilities. I continue to be proud of our team’s effort to think outside the box as our office is able
to introduce another first in the state, innovative approach to public safety,” explained Stuart.
While this full body scanner was an investment for the county, it will undoubtedly keep our jail safer and help save lives
of both staff and inmates. A video showing this new full body scanner is available via the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office
YouTube page.
