NEW BROCKTON, Ala. (WDHN) — Before the end of this year, the Coffee County Jail will be the first in the Wiregrass to use a state-of-the-art booking scanner.
The TEK-84 uses a radiation beam detects threats concealed within the body.
It eliminates the need for strip searches.
The quick scan can detect a weapon or contraband that an inmate may try to conceal in a body cavity.
It also checks a person’s body temperature and decreases any contact between the prisoner and the correctional officer.
That’s especially important during the pandemic.
“The image of your body starts at your toes, goes up, and comes down,” Chief Deputy Ronnie Whitworth said. “An X-ray, so to speak, (will) stop contraband from coming in. It will pick up anything of that nature and also checks body temperatures if somebody came in sick.”
The California-manufactured TEK-84 can only be found in a half-dozen Alabama counties.
This will be the first one in the Wiregrass.