Pottawattamie County OKs purchase of new body scanner for jail booking

The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors voted May 13 to approve the purchase of a new body scanner for the county jail booking area, with the county funding the device from its capital plan.

The sheriff's office presented the recommendation and technical rationale to the board, describing a stationary, horizontal ‘‘fan-beam’’ unit that the presenter said will provide a live scan, highlight suspected contraband using AI-based software, and reduce rescans caused by a sliding platform on the current unit. "This software will actually highlight different items on the person," the presenter said, "...this is gonna light it up red, and we're gonna be able to respond a lot quicker." The presenter also described a 90-day maximum delivery timeline and a negotiated purchase price of about $239,000 and said the county negotiated an equipment credit for the old unit.

Board members asked about warranty coverage, integration with other county systems, and operating-system support. The presenter said the vendor offers a six-year warranty as negotiated and that the scanner is a self-contained system not tied to the county network; the vendor also committed to shipping the device with a Windows 11–compatible configuration. The board asked that county IT be consulted; the presenter said he would contact IT although he described the scanner as largely plug-and-play.

Supervisors also discussed optional features the vendor proposed. The presenter recommended not purchasing an expensive integration with the county jail management system or additional fingerprinting capability, saying those functions already exist via other county systems.

Action: after discussion the board moved and approved the purchase; the chair called for all in favor, and the motion passed. The presenter said staff would arrange contracting steps and notify supervisors when paperwork is ready for signature.