Jail contraband fight adding body scans

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - The Bernalillo County Commission is going to spend $900,000 a year trying to help stop drugs and other contraband from making it into the Metro Detention Center.

Over the last few years News 13 has reported multiple correctional officers, inmates and their family members who have all tried to sneak contraband into the jail.

Many say contraband puts inmates and staff at risk, and now the county commission think two full-body scanners like the ones at airport security checkpoints will stop the problem.

But is it worth the tax dollars? Commissioners say yes.

In October corrections officers busted inmate Joseph Taylor and his family for sneaking milk cartons stuffed with tobacco, marijuana, a lighter and a drug called soboxin into the jail. They said Taylor needed the special brand of milk due to a medical condition.

Then there is Rob Padilla, a former corrections officer accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the jail by hiding them in his underwear. That happened in September.

County commissioners and jail administrators say incidents like those have to stop.

"People can be really creative in how they try to transport things into the jail," said Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins.  "We feel this is the best technology available.

"Plus (MDC) Chief (Ramon) Rusting feels this technology will help him run a safer jail, and we were really supportive."

So supportive the commission agreed to grant the jail $900,000 a year to put two of the scanners in MDC. 

Just like the ones at the airport, the new scanners should be able to detect contraband even if it's in someone's underwear or hidden in milk cartons. But the devices don't stop there.

"Screening services are for every staff member, every inmate and that also includes screening every package and all the mail that comes into MDC," Hart Stebbins added.

The money will also be used to hire outside personnel to run and maintain the machines. That is a move officials hope will cut down on correction officers like Melvyn Askew who was arrested last year for allegedly trying to sell drugs to inmates while at work.

It's a cost commissioners say they're legally obligated to spend.

The Metro Detention Center is one of the biggest jails in the country. It's allotted more than $60 million a year out of the county's $240 million annual budget.

It currently houses more than 2,800 inmates, which is more than 500 over capacity.

MDC could also eat up even more money.  Jail officials met with federal judges last month to discuss several options to relieve constant overcrowding.