Todd Fiscal Court on Friday morning gave approval for the Todd County Jail to apply for grant funds to help purchase a full-body scanner that could help reduce the entry of illegal contraband into the facility.
It was part of an otherwise routine agenda that magistrates made quick work of, with Jailer Jeff Penick saying the scanner doesn’t catch everything, but he’s hopeful anything dangerous in the jail will show up when an inmate is booked.
The jail intends to scan every new inmate and inmates who come in from the work release program.
Jailer Penick is hopeful that the knowledge of the scanner being an option for the jail will deter anyone who has thoughts of attempting to bring in contraband.
Penick says he intends to find funding to purchase the scanner, whether the grant application is successful or not.
In other action, magistrates approved an application for state funding of just under $29,000 to purchase election e-poll books for each precinct.
Fiscal court also approved spending $4,200 to purchase a cybersecurity firewall for the courthouse.