Some of the contraband items seized by provincial correctional staff in Saskatchewan. (submitted photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

By Charlene Tebbutt

body scanner in jail

Provincial budget earmarks funding for new body scanner at P.A. men’s jail

Mar 21, 2019 | 5:27 PM

The men’s jail in Prince Albert will soon have a full body scanner on site to reduce contraband coming into the institution after the provincial government announced funding in its 2019-2020 budget this week.

The province is directing just over $1 million toward the new body scanner as part of its contraband reduction initiative. The body scanner is similar to an airport security scanner and will be a new addition at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre.

It is expected to be in place by the end of the fiscal year next March and will be the second one in the province, according to the Ministry of Justice. The Regina Correctional Centre is set to get a body scanner within the next few weeks.

The new body scanner will go a long way toward keeping banned items, including drugs, out of the jail,” Drew Wilby, executive director with the Ministry of Justice, said.

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“This will be for inmates coming into the facility,” Wilby said. “Upon admission, the expectation is that they will be taken through the body scanner to determine if they’re carrying anything inside of their body cavities, which has become a very common way, unfortunately, for them to bring contraband into our facilities.”

Wilby said the new scanner is a non-invasive way to check for banned items coming into the jail, and will increase the safety of staff as well. The government is planning to eventually install body scanners at all provincial institutions, including the Pine Grove women’s facility in Prince Albert, he added.

“Obviously, staff have to deal with things coming in on-person for inmates, and dealing with contraband, it creates a very significant security risk in our facilities,” Wilby added. “Our job is to stay ahead of that and to equip our staff and equip our facilities with the tools to prevent that.”

(submitted photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

The government is also looking at other ways to reduce contraband in the jail system. The mail policy at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre has recently changed, Wilby said, due to the legalization of marijuana.

Unopened letters are no longer provided to inmates, Wilby said. The institution uses other methods to handle privileged or legal correspondence, he added.

“We found a lot of contraband was coming in through the mail,” he added. “With the advent of the legalization of cannabis and in particular, some of the products out of the United States, we were finding cannabis was and oils were making their way in through greeting cards and letters.”

The P.A. men’s jail has 484 operational beds while Pine Grove has 180. Each facility also has a contingency plan to house offenders in temporary beds if needed, Wilby said.

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Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt