Crime & Safety
Pasco's Inmate Scanner Reduces Contraband in Jail
The first of its kind to be used in the Bay area, the machine reveals items hidden in shoes and body cavities during the booking process.
The Pasco Sheriff's Office Detention Center booking section has released the results of the first five months of using the new inmate scanner machine, which has proven to be an effective tool at reducing the introduction of illegal contraband into the jail, according to a media release.
The RadPRO SecurPASS—the first such scanner to be utilized in the Tampa
Bay area— was implemented into the agency's booking process in October.
The scanner has resulted in the capture of the following 19 items concealed in
footwear, clothing and body cavities:
15 drug/paraphernalia items
1 tongue piercing
1 knife/set of keys
1 shotgun shell
1 window punch
Included in the contraband listed above were the following items recovered
just this past week:
- Â On March 10, Peter Waechter was being booked in for auto burglary. The inmate was run through SecurPass and a large metal object was detected in his shoe. Inside the inmate's shoe, hidden under the in-sole was a sharp metal window punch. The inmate was then charged with possession of burglary tools.
- On March 11, Tiffany Harbison was brought in for a DUI arrest. During a SecurPass scan, an unknown object was identified in her lower abdomen. Â The strip search yielded a metal pill bottle that was inside her vagina containing 2.5 Xanax bars. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
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