5-11/000.00 Inmate Body Scanner

PURPOSE OF ORDER:

 

The purpose of this order is to establish procedures for the operation of the LINEV Systems body scanners by personnel at the Inmate Reception Center (IRC).

 

SCOPE OF ORDER:

 

This order shall apply to all personnel assigned to and/or working in any capacity at IRC, specifically personnel assigned to booking front and old side court line.

 

ORDER: 

 

The purpose of the body scanner is to reveal contraband that may be secreted in clothing or in body cavities without the need to remove an inmate’s clothing.  The body scanner curtails the supply of contraband entering custody facilities and provides additional privacy during intake and routine searches. 

 

IRC shall have operational body scanners available at booking front and old side court line to screen new inmates and court returnees.  Pre-arraigned inmates have no exemption from the safety screening process.

 

In an effort to reduce contraband, inmates may also be screened on a routine basis or when personnel have a suspicion that an inmate may be concealing any form of contraband.

 

SCAN OPERATORS

 

Custody personnel operating the body scanners shall be trained by the IRC training office.  Personnel shall fully understand the operation of the system and how to identify contraband on the display screens.

 

 

Personnel not formally trained in the operation of the body scanners or personnel who are pregnant shall not attempt to operate the body scanner.  If trained personnel are not available, the scanner shall not be used, and alternate searching procedures shall be applied.

 

IRC custody assistant personnel shall be the primary operators of the body scanner equipment and shall share the responsibility of working the body scanners with trained deputies.  Custody personnel operating the body scanners shall also ensure a deputy, or custody assistant under the supervision of sworn personnel, is assigned to provide security by the body scanner at all times.

 

Body scanner screening operators, and any personnel in a position to directly observe the body scanner display monitor, shall be of the same gender as the inmate being screened.

 

A video camera shall permanently be placed at the IRC booking front staff station and old side court line staff station for use when an inmate becomes recalcitrant.  At the beginning of each shift, the booking front lead deputy and the old side court line lead deputy shall inspect the camera to ensure it functions, the battery is full, and recording media are available and have sufficient storage space.

 

EQUIPMENT REPAIR

 

When a body scanner is not functioning properly, custody personnel shall immediately notify their floor sergeant who shall notify the watch commander.

 

Following this notification, the lead deputies at booking front and/or old side court line shall make an entry in the electronic Uniform Daily Activity Log (e-UDAL) documenting the maintenance request, as well as contacting IRC logistics for immediate repair. 

 

The IRC logistics personnel shall request service by calling the body scanner vendor, LINEV Systems.  When a request for service has been submitted, the watch commander or designee shall notify Custody Support Services Bureau (CSSB) via telephone.

 

SCANNING PROCEDURES

 

Every effort shall be made to ensure that all new inmates to the IRC will be searched using the body scanners.

 

Below is the list of procedures trained custody personnel shall follow when operating the body scanner:

 

• For booking front, direct inmates to make a single file line in the “uncuff” cell adjacent to the room where the body scanner is located
• Conduct a hand search of each inmate’s person
• Advise inmates of the body scan procedure
• Scan inmates one person at a time
• Place inmate property into the basket.  Property shall include jackets, shoes, and court paperwork
• Direct inmates to step onto the body scanner
• Scan the inmate’s wristband using the hand held barcode scanner
• Instruct inmates to stand with their hands to their sides.  Hands shall be open and not made into fists
• Advise inmates to remain still until their body scan is completed
• Custody personnel trained to analyze the inmate’s body scan shall monitor the display for any signs of contraband 
• Direct inmates to step off the body scanner, stand on the marked “X,” and face the window until further instructions are given by custody personnel
• For old side court line, custody personnel shall direct inmates returning from court to walk in a single file line through the body scanner area and proceed to their assigned housing facility

 

DETECTED CONTRABAND

 

If deputy personnel reviewing the body scanner monitor views an object that appears to be contraband, they shall advise custody personnel to immediately remove the inmate from the body scanner, handcuff the inmate to the front bench (located in front of the deputy desk) and notify the floor sergeant. 

 

The floor sergeant shall then escort the inmate to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility (TTCF) urgent care to confirm the existence of concealed contraband. 

Whenever contraband is discovered as the result of a body scanner screening or during an alternate search initiated by an inmate’s refusal or inability to enter the body scanner screening system, the handling sergeant shall make an entry into the electronic Line Operations Tracking System (e-LOTS), prior to the conclusion of the shift on which the contraband was discovered. The handling sergeant shall also ensure any necessary criminal or disciplinary reports are completed in a timely manner.

CONTRABAND WATCH

 

The discovery of contraband shall be reported to the IRC watch commander.  It shall be the responsibility of the watch commander to ensure all pre-placement procedures for contraband watch, as well as documentation and reporting procedures, are adhered to as delineated in Custody Division Manual (CDM) section 5-07/000.05, “Contraband Watch Procedures.”

 

INMATE REFUSAL

 

If at any time an inmate refuses to participate in the body scanner procedure, the inmate shall be treated as a recalcitrant inmate, per (CDM) section 7-02/020.00, “Handling Insubordinate, Recalcitrant, Hostile, or Aggressive Inmates.”  Custody personnel shall immediately separate the inmate and request a sergeant or supervising line deputy to respond to the location. 

 

Every inmate refusal shall be documented in the electronic Uniform Daily Log (e-UDAL), and the watch commander shall be notified.

 

If there are no available body scanner trained personnel, or the body scanners are inoperable, the search procedures below shall be followed, and notifications shall be made to the watch commander and entered into the e-UDAL.  Any other instance of an inmate not being body scanned (e.g. medical emergency) shall be reported to the watch commander and handled at their discretion.

 

Depending on the type of inmate refusing the body scan (i.e. felony, misdemeanor, infraction), custody personnel shall follow the below list of procedures and guidelines:

 

FELONY INMATES – VISUAL BODY CAVITY SEARCH

 

Once a sergeant or supervising line deputy is present, felony inmates, including pre-arraigned felony inmates, who refuse to be screened shall be given a visual body cavity search.  Inmates who refuse to submit to a visual body cavity search are subject to “major violation” disciplinary procedures per (CDM) section 5-09/030.00, “Disciplinary Guidelines.”

 

If the inmate becomes recalcitrant during any part of the screening or subsequent searching process, they shall be handled as advised in (CDM) section 7-02/020.00,
“Handling Insubordinate, Recalcitrant, Hostile, or Aggressive Inmates.”

 

Inmates who are on parole or post release community supervision (PRCS) shall be handled in the same manner as felony inmates.  This includes inmates entering IRC for a flash incarceration (Penal Code §3454).

 

PRE-ARRAIGNED MISDEMEANOR AND INFRACTION INMATES – VISUAL BODY CAVITY SEARCH

 

Pre-arraigned misdemeanor and infraction inmates shall not be subjected to a visual body cavity search based upon refusal alone.  The act of declining the screening option does not meet the “individualized suspicion and articulable facts” required to authorize the visual body cavity search.

 

If “individualized suspicion and articulable facts” exist, custody personnel shall only perform a visual body cavity search upon completion of a “Strip Search Authorization Record” (SH-R-399) with approval from the watch commander.

 

Inmates who have already been arraigned shall be handled the same as the felony inmates described above.