While the Council Bluffs community continues to mourn a deputy lost in the line of duty, Pottawattamie County sheriff Jeff Danker is actively seeking ways to make his jail safer.
Its been two months since Pottawattamie County Deputy Mark Burbridge was killed on the job. The breathtaking memorial outside the sheriff's office is long gone, but changes in jail security may soon be in the works.
"Its definitely something we've looked at since that incident happened," Danker said.
Danker says next week he'll ask the County Board of Supervisors for an inmate body scanner. The purpose of the technology is to keep county staff and inmates safe by detecting drugs and weapons hidden on inmates.
The cost would be around $170,000. Danker plans to ask the supervisors if there are any funding options, as the tech was not in the annual budget.
"It pretty much gives a picture of the body," Danker said. "It can actually see inside to where if theres drugs that have been ingested in the system - in the body, in the stomach - it should be able to locate that. Its a little more in depth than a metal detector."
Danker says the scanner would work like going through airport security, but the small steps would give many in the jail piece of mind.
"Some people are very ingenious," Danker said. "Some people are very determined on what they try to bring into facilities so it's a tool and its something that I think would be a real asset."
