Sheriff Darren Jackson’s office recently was the recipient of a mini-buster contraband detection kit through the office of National Drug Control Policy, Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center.
The kit, which consists of portable search devices, includes a fiber optic scope and a K910-B density meter. It will be utilized on traffic stops and in homes where potential drug activity is suspected.
The scope is actually a pliable fiber optic cable with a camera that allows for searches of possible drug hiding places such as gas tanks of vehicles or inside of the wall of a house.
The K10-B is basically a hand-held X-ray machine that scans a surface and measures the density of that surface. If there is a change and an object is spotted beneath the surface, it provides the officer with probable cause to search further.
As part of the grant specifications, Jackson attended a training seminar in Washington, D.C. to be trained in the operations of the kit.
“We were very fortunate to have received this kit,” said Jackson. “The deputies and I have spent a lot of time learning to operate the scope and the density meter and I believe this is really going to be an asset to the department.”
Additionally, the county has become part of the Victims Info and Notification Program, or VINE. The program allows for the tracking of an offender through their incarceration, trial and sentencing. Additionally, it allows a victim to keep tabs as to when a subject may be paroled.
“We’re going to make sure that anyone who is a victim of a crime has the VINE program information. There is a toll-free number that a victim or any citizen can call to check on the status of an offender. It’s a very good program,” said Jackson.