The Department of Correction has agreed to pause the introduction of electronic body scanners in state prisons after state officials charged with overseeing the well-being of incarcerated individuals raised concerns about how the scanners will be used.
On Tuesday, Correction Ombuds DeVaughn Ward and acting Child Advocate Christina Ghio sent a letter to Department of Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros, Gov. Ned Lamont’s office and lawmakers from both parties saying that there were still unanswered questions about the protection of personal health data, the use of the scanners in certain situations and overall protocols.
The body scanners, similar to those used by TSA at airports, are part of a pilot program at Manson Youth Institution and York Correctional Institution, the state women’s prison. They were scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1.
But Quiros agreed to pause the implementation of the scanners until he was able to meet with Ghio and Ward to address their concerns, according to an email to CT Mirror from Andrius Banevicius, spokesperson for the Department of Correction.
“In light of this upcoming meeting, the DOC will continue to review and refine its policies as they relate to the use of the body scanners,” Banevicius wrote.
Criminal Justice reform advocates have long been advocating for body scanners as a less invasive solution to strip searches. In February, advocates reiterated their call at a press conference memorializing the 2018 death of J’Allen Jones, who died after being pepper sprayed, restrained, struck and forcibly moved by as many as nine correction workers. Jones had refused to submit to a strip search.
Data showed that the department conducted about 355,000 strip searches on incarcerated people in 2024.
The state Bonding Commission put aside funding for four body scanners in August.
In the letter, Ward and Ghio underscored that it needs to be clear that the purpose of the body scanners is to use them to reduce the number of strip searches. Ward told CT Mirror that he’d seen a social media post by the union representing correction officers that made him question whether everyone understood the purpose of the scanners in the same way. He said the post seemed to indicate that correction officers viewed the scanners as a way to enhance surveillance of incarcerated people, with a particular focus on detecting drugs. Advocates, on the other hand, viewed the scanners as a means to reduce strip searches.
“I think the bridge between those two interpretations leaves a world of potential misunderstanding and misuse by staff,” Ward said.
In the post, the union lists the body scanners as one of several “practical and effective solutions” that would “address the growing crisis of drugs entering our state correctional facilities.”
A spokesperson for AFSCME local 391, which represents correction officers, did not respond to a request for comment from CT Mirror.
Ghio told CT Mirror that the Office of the Child Advocate supported the use of body scanners but said that policies needed to be “well thought through and clarified” before the department started to use the machines. She said it needed to be “crystal clear” how often the scanners are allowed to be used on an individual person.
In meetings with the legislature’s budget committee in February and March, Quiros said he believed the body scanners were “100% better” than strip searches at identifying contraband. He said he supported the use of body scanners for department staff as well as the incarcerated population. Union representatives, however, have cast doubt on the efficacy of the scanners and said they don’t support requiring corrections staff to pass through them.
Ward and Ghio’s letter also raised concerns around how the scanners would be used on pregnant women or people who have insulin pumps or pacemakers. The advocates said it was unclear how often the scanners would be used, and what kind of radiation incarcerated individuals — particularly children and teens — would be exposed to. And if contraband was found through a scanner, it’s not clear what would happen after.
“Transparent and consistent procedures must also be established for circumstances in which contraband is suspected, so that both residents and staff understand what steps will follow a scan,” the letter read.
They also questioned how the data and images collected by the scanners would be stored, and who would be able to access them. Ward told CT Mirror that the scans will allow corrections officers to view protected health information about incarcerated individuals, since the scans reveal images of someone’s body.
Barbara Fair, executive director of Stop Solitary CT and a strong advocate for the scanners, told CT Mirror that she shared many of the concerns that Ward and Ghio outlined in the letter. She said she agreed that there needed to be a meeting with the Department of Correction to discuss those points.
State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, co-chair of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, told CT Mirror that if people want to create a policy for the use of the body scanners, they should be able to do so “relatively quickly.”
Ghio and Ward asked the Department of Correction to convene a meeting no later than Oct. 15 to discuss the body scanners.
___