NCJ Number
250685
Date Published
April 2016
Length
402 pages
Annotation
This report provides correctional officials with an overview of the current contraband-detection technologies available on the market, without providing an opinion about the quality or effectiveness of these products; and it summarizes the background research and methods used in performing this survey.
Abstract
These technologies attempt to address a significant problem for correctional facilities across the United States. For the purposes of this survey, "contraband" is broadly defined as "anything inmates are prohibited from possessing." The prohibition is typically based on the contraband's threat to safety within and outside the correctional system. Although weapons, tools, and narcotics are the most prominent types of contraband, other types include money, electronic devices, food, and tobacco products. Each type of contraband poses unique threat and detection challenges. The contraband-detection technologies are presented under three major sections distinguished as person-borne, vehicle-borne, and environmental. Each contraband-detection system's information is grouped and summarized with the intent of aiding correctional officials in planning the potential acquisition and implementation of the technologies. The market survey found information on 103 contraband-detection products from 33 vendors. Fourteen of the vendors responded to the request for information, and the other information was obtained through Internet searches of vendor websites. Although the varied content of the information on the systems restricted the survey's comprehensiveness, the survey's intent was to report all information received. Contact information is provided for all vendors, so readers are encouraged to obtain information directly from the vendors. 103 figures, 5 tables, and 18 references