The Correction Department for the first time has installed a body scanner at a Rikers Island jail to check correction officers and civilian staff for contraband, the Daily News has learned.
A photo of the partially assembled imaging device at the Robert N. Davoren Center was obtained by The News. The devices, similar to those deployed in airports, can see under the clothes of the person being scanned.
The move by Correction Commissioner Louis Molina even on a pilot basis marks a significant shift in policy. The Correction Department has resisted deploying the devices in the face of strong opposition from the influential unions that represent the rank-and-file.
But following as many as 10 drug overdose deaths in the jails over the past two years and data showing drugs still flowed into the lockups even when visits were banned during the pandemic, pressure from the City Council and advocacy groups has intensified in recent months. There was just one fatal overdose in the jails between 2017 and 2020, the City Council said in October.
Correction Department officials did not immediately comment on the scanner initiative.
“Any pilot program or further plans to install these scanners must first take into account all health and legal considerations, as well as the proper training for operating these scanners,” Benny Boscio, President of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, said.
Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains Association, said his union is monitoring the situation. “We’re looking into any health concerns with the machine, but at the same time we want staff and inmates to be safe,” he said.
Visitors and detainees already go through body scanners, but officers and staff have only been required to pass through metal detectors, which don’t catch hidden narcotics. Oversight reports have also exposed a sometimes lax attitude toward searches of officers, with lunch boxes not being placed through the detectors, for example.
Molina…
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