New body scanner will reduce drug poisonings, strip searches: EPS
Police in Edmonton have a new $158,000 body scanner machine to search people entering its Detainee Management Unit (DMU).
The scanner went into use in May and is the first of its kind to be used in a Canadian police facility, Edmonton Police Service said Friday.
“Not only are there many safety benefits for our employees, but those in our custody will be much safer if we can see and secure anything detainees have hidden, not to mention a reduction in the unfortunate, but sometimes necessary invasiveness of a strip search,” said Acting Insp. Jason Altmiks.
“We’re pleased that we have this innovative way of providing an alternative search process for our detainees and our members.”
The new technology has already proved effective, EPS said. Within days of its first use officers were able to locate drugs that were hidden by a detainee "that would have caused an overdose."
The scanner will only be used on adults who are able to stand still for 10 seconds and after an initial medical screening is complete, EPS said.
The machine is located at the service's Northwest Campus across the road from the Edmonton Remand Centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.