Woman reporting to Detention Center to serve prison sentence fails body cavity scan

Ace News Today - Woman reporting to Detention Center to serve sentence fails cavity scan — (HCDC’s Body Scanner, Image credit: HCSO)

On September 29, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) reported that a woman reporting to the Harford County Detention Center (HCDC) in Bel Air, Maryland, to serve a seven-day sentence for a probation violation on an original charge of burglary, arrived at the Detention Center for her stay by trying to smuggle in a weeks’ worth of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS.)

On Monday, September 12, 37-year-old Kelly McFillin of Baltimore arrived at the HCDC to begin serving that seven-day sentence.

Upon her arrival, deputies assigned to the Interagency Processing Center (IPC) of the Detention Center performed a routine search of her body utilizing the SOTER RS Body Scanner. During the scan, a non-organic item was detected on the scan inside McFillin’s pelvic area. Per the standard policy, McFillin was detained in a temporary holding cell and regularly observed.

One day later on Tuesday, September 13, deputies observed McFillin behaving suspiciously in the temporary holding cell. Deputies then witnessed her place something in her mouth. Deputies immediately removed McFillin from her cell and performed another body search.

During the second search, deputies discovered illegal CDS in her underwear.

As a result of the discovery during the search, McFillin was charged with possession of contraband in a place of confinement. This subsequently violated her court ordered probation to which she was ordered to be held without bail by a District Court Judge.

HCDC’s IPC:

In the Spring of 2021, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office announced the purchase of OD Security’s SOTER RS body scanner to be used in the Interagency Processing Center (IPC) at the Harford County Detention Center (HCDC) in an effort to stem the flow of contraband into the Jail. The Body Scanner’s purpose is to screen inmates and arrestees for drugs/narcotics, tobacco, weapons, cellphones, metal/plastic items, and other contraband, both internally and externally.

This tool helps prevent contraband from entering the housing areas of the Detention Center. Most contraband discovered is carried by the incoming inmates within body cavities and secreted for use at a later time during their incarceration.