Submitted
Regina Correctional Centre is already seeing success in reducing contraband after its x-ray body scanner became operational on Oct. 9.
The facility installed the body scanner in March, and training for the scanner was completed over the summer. The scanner allows facility staff to screen offenders entering the facility for illicit contraband, such as narcotics, that may be hidden on their person or inside their bodies.
“Whenever contraband such as drugs is brought into our facilities, it has an inherently negative effect on offenders, their ability to successfully complete rehabilitation programming, and the overall stability of the facility itself,” Corrections and Policing Minister Christine Tell said.
The body scanner had its first positive scans roughly two weeks after being in operation. With the help of the body scanner, over the past 60 days Regina Correctional Centre has intercepted six offender attempts to smuggle contraband into the facility.
“The installation of this body scanner is a big step forward for the safety and security of the Regina Correctional Centre, and ultimately the Saskatchewan corrections system as a whole,” Tell said.
The ministry plans to purchase body scanners for the Saskatoon and Prince Albert correctional centres before the end of the fiscal year. The use of body scanners in Saskatchewan is consistent with successful measures taken to reduce contraband in facilities in other Canadian jurisdictions.
Other measures used to detect illicit contraband include regular facility searches, drug detection dogs, and the use of technology such as ion scanners and ferromagnetic detectors.
