With inmates now attempting to sneak in heroin instead of cigarettes, Grant County Jailer Chris Hankins is exploring a new option to stop contraband.

Hankins said he is researching the possibility of purchasing a full-body scanner that can quickly let jail officials know if inmates are trying to smuggle in dangerous items, particularly in body cavities.

The scanner would protect the inmates, protect the county from any lawsuits and ultimately prevent any in-custody deaths at the Grant County Detention Center, said Hankins.

“It’s basically the same thing you would walk through at the Greater Cincinnati Airport,” Hankins said. “Anybody that leaves the jail and comes back would have to go through it. Any new intakes would have to go through it. There’s a possibility that if we have suspicions that a vendor or a deputy might be bringing in contraband, we could run them through it as well.”

While strip searches are permitted, Hankins said the jail is not allowed to do body cavity searches.

Instead, officials have to send the inmate to the hospital to be scanned if there are suspicions of contraband, costing the county money and taking deputies away from the jail.

“I think it’s going to be a really good deterrent for these guys bringing this stuff in,” Hankins said. “They are bringing it in through their body cavities. They are bringing in dangerous contraband. We’re not talking about cigarettes. These people are bringing in pills, heroin and needles.”

One inmate swallowed a pair of nail clippers, something deputies could not be sure of until a scan at the hospital.

Hankins recalls a female in circuit court who knew she was going to be sentenced to jail time.

“She had a syringe and heroin in her (private part) and came to the jail,” Hankins said. “We weren’t able to detect that. We got some tips that she was using inside the jail. My biggest fear is that we’re going to have an in-custody death. We’re doing everything we can to prevent that.”

As Hankins looks at potentially installing a body scanner, the biggest pitfall is financial.

The machine, including training, a monitor and other necessary parts, could be $200,000 or less.

Hankins said he has learned that he could purchase the scanner through the inmate commissary fund, meaning it would not cost any taxpayer money.

However, there is currently between $80,000 to $90,000 in the commissary fund.

Hankins said there are a handful of jails in Kentucky, including Carroll County, that utilize body scanners.

If finances can be worked out, Hankins believes the technology could be pivotal in the fight against not only contraband in the jail, but the loss of an inmate’s life.

“We’re just trying to prevent any deaths or any serious issues,” he said. “It’s an epidemic everywhere.”