WAKULLA, Fla. (WCTV) – The Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office has introduced new security measures they say will help keep the jail safer for everyone.
Captain Brett Surace with the Sheriff’s Office said the addition of an advanced body scanner adds one more layer of protection for inmates, staff and the broader community.
Surace said the scanner allows deputies to detect objects that might not be caught during a standard search. In some cases, he says, individuals may conceal items in their body or within layers of clothing, places a traditional pat down could miss. Those items can include small bags of drugs or even larger objects, such as pieces of metal hidden in a waistline or belt.
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Surace explained the scanner works similarly to technology used at airports and is designed to enhance overall safety.
“You are safer knowing that person is in there, it also mitigates your risk of people getting what they need to try to affect an escape or anything from a facility. So on multiple levels it really protects all of us,” he said.
The advanced body scanner cost about $250,000. Surace said the agency was able to fund the purchase through the Florida Inmate Welfare Fund.
He added that the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office is on the forefront of this change and that adopting the technology is already encouraging other agencies to follow suit.
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