Scanning for Person-Borne Contraband in Correctional Facilities

There are multiple ways in which contraband makes its way inside prisons and other correctional facilities.

Person-borne contraband is that which is found hidden on a person, either concealed within or under their clothing or within a body cavity.

Detecting person-borne contraband must be done using capable, yet safe methods to be accurate enough to locate items while also not causing harm to the person or to security personnel.

Full body scanning using advanced x-ray technology is considered the safest and most accurate way to locate person-borne contraband.

What Detection Methods Are Used in Correctional Facilities?

There are two methods in which scanning for person-borne contraband can be performed at a correctional facility: full-body stationary walk-through scanning and handheld wand body scanning.

Both of these devices are available using various technologies such as x-ray, backscatter x-ray, transmission x-ray, ion scanning, millimeter wave, and others that detect different items including cellular devices, metallic and non-metallic items, narcotics, and explosives, each to varying degrees.

The devices also have varying degrees of penetration in three different scanning situations, those being on the body, within a body cavity, and under body armor.

Yet among all of the different walk-through and handheld devices available, as of yet there is no single device that can detect all five categories of contraband in all three locations.

Which Devices Yield the Least Amount of Radiation?

Concerning radiation, the scanners emitting the lowest amount of radiation can detect the fewest types of contraband, while those detecting the most types emit higher radiation.

While all of these devices are considered safe for repeated use, the number of uses considered safe for each device may be higher or lower depending on the amount of radiation emitted.

Handheld devices generally deliver smaller doses of radiation in comparison to walk-through units, but this is not always the case, as exposure may increase based on how the device is used.

Also, the cost of these devices tends to correlate directly with the radiation level and detection ability of each device.

Which Scanning Device Is Right for Your Facility?

Practically speaking, handheld scanners may be more desirable in many cases due to their easy use and affordability, but they are more time-consuming to use.

Conversely, full body scanners are more convenient and thorough, but much more expensive.

When considering the cost of these devices and their different limitations based on the technology and radiation exposure, the sensible solution for any correctional facility is to use a combination of these approaches to detect the most types of person-borne contraband while delivering the least amount of radiation possible.

How Does Full Body X-Ray Scanning Work?

Full body scanning has become an essential practice in correctional facilities and other places, as it provides the most accurate means of contraband detection available.

Of the two body scanning technologies that are used today that are backscatter and millimeter wave, it is the former that is most commonly used in corrections facilities, partly because this technology has been available the longest.

What Is Backscatter X-Ray?

Body scanning x-ray devices used in airports, corrections facilities, federal buildings, and others employ a technology called backscatter x-ray, which is a low-power, digital version of the old x-ray machines that imposed images on photographic film.

The old machines involved an image scanner behind the body and an x-ray tube in front, a setup that required a considerable dose of radiation that had to pass through the body to create the image on the film.

Today’s x-ray body scanning machines are fortunately much weaker and much safer.

What Are Full Body Scanning Machines?

Also called soft x-ray scanners, modern low-intensity full body scanning machines contain a single image scanner on one side of the body only and an x-ray tube close to the image scanner.

With the image scanner and the x-ray tube on the same side, x-rays do not need to fully penetrate the body to generate an image.

Instead, these weaker x-rays only penetrate through clothing and about an inch into the body, where they scatter, bounce off structures within the body, then ricochet back to the image scanner.

The data generated by the scattering and rebounding x-rays are used to create the x-ray image.

How Do Body Scanning Machines Discern Different Body Parts?

How do body scanning machines differentiate between flesh, bone, and other items?

Different shades in the image are generated according to the way that low-powered x-rays behave as they enter the body, then bounce back out.

Based on the density and makeup of different materials, the energy signatures of ions and atoms and other factors, clear, details x-ray images are produced.

How Is Contraband Detected?

How do modern body scanning machines now detect contraband so easily?

Continued advancement in full body scanning machines has now led to technology such as software that understands the physical makeup of various substances, from parts of the human body to non-human items like weapons, packets of drugs, paper, and much more.

Based on the response generated by low-powered x-rays as they scatter and bounce back, the body scanning machine is able to detect the physical makeup of everything in front of the scanner.

This Is a Developing Technology

The x-ray technology used in body scanners continues to develop, making it not just more accurate, but also safer.

As full body scanning continues to evolve, corrections facilities and others using these machines can continue to accomplish fast, safe scanning while delivering the smallest doses of radiation possible.

Fortunately, today’s top-of-the-line full body x-ray scanners have been approved as being exceptionally safe, with little risk for repeated use.

The Safety of Full Body Scanners in Prisons

One of the prime factors that correctional facilities must address in their security techniques is safety, and security checks must be safe, both for inmates and security staff.

While full body scanners have alleviated most of the safety concerns associated with physical pat downs and body cavity searches, there is still the question of radiation exposure, and whether body scanners are actually safe.

A Concern For Radiation Safety

Although x-ray technology has been approved for non-medical use in functions such as body scanning since 1993 and the technology has improved greatly over the decades, the concern over radiation safety and how much radiation is too much has been there since the start.

According to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), a dose of 1 mSv or less annually, including up to 250 uSV delivered from security body scanning equipment, is considered safe.

These are important numbers for facilities performing multiple scans on the same inmates and visitors, as the yearly dosage can add up quicker than it would for the average individual.

Full Body Scanners Much Safe

Research on the use of full body scanners reveals that the dosage delivered by modern scanners is minimal, meaning there is little safety risk even to those undergoing multiple scans throughout the period of one year.

This safety dose of up to 250 uSv equates to roughly 1,000 body scans per year at an average radiation dose from body scanning equipment while staying well within the safety margin.

Add to this the fact that as body scanning technology continues to improve and radiation doses per scan continue to get smaller, the safety margin is evident.

Many body scanners already deliver much lower than the average dosage and studies have demonstrated safety even up to as many as 5,000 scans annually when each scan delivers .05 uSv.

Consider Using Full Body Scanners

Considering the ongoing development of better, safer, and more efficient full body scanners and how today’s scanning technology works well within NCRP safety recommendations, it is safe to say that modern body scanning is not harmful to those moving through them, even multiple times.

As long as prison facilities utilize the best equipment to scan for contraband and it is used within the NCRP guidelines, safety is not a concern.

Combined with the other ways that body scanners promote inmate and staff safety by removing most needs for actual, physical contact, it is easy to see how full body scanners are the best choice today for security scanning.