Скачать или смотреть Police dogs sweep Hamilton County Jail for drugs

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio (WKRC) - Four-legged officers go cell by cell, looking for any signs of illegal drugs.

K9 units did a sweep of the Hamilton County Jail Wednesday. The 10 K9s are from different police departments throughout the county.

Dave Daugherty with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said, “We have had people that have passed away inside the jail that have overdosed. This is just a tool that we've used to prevent that.”

The jail has other layers of security, but the dogs were looking for drugs that may have slipped past.

“Hamilton County is one of the first jails in the state of Ohio to get a body scanner. When someone's arrested, they're brought in through the jail. When they're brought in through intake, we actually send them through a body scanner, looking to make sure they haven't swallowed any drugs or anything of that nature,” Major David Turner said.

The sheriff’s office does periodic sweeps several times a year. Deputies say it's necessary to help keep inmates and staff safe, especially with the rise of fentanyl.

Daugherty said, “It’s a collaborative approach and that's why we're here. We're here to save lives and we're also here to protect our deputies. The threat of fentanyl could be catastrophic in this facility.”

The jail also has services for inmates once they're about to be released to help with drug abuse and recidivism. Deputies say it's in the public's interest to help because eventually inmates will return to society.

Turner says in May, the jail started a program called “M.A.T.” which stands for "Medically Assisted Treatment." One-hundred-thirteen inmates have received help to get off drugs with the program.