SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Sumner County Jail wants to scan incoming mail.

The sheriff's office requested $500,000 from the county's Opioid Abatement Committee on Thursday to fund two drug detection devices for mail delivered to the jail. 

Sumner County Sheriff Eric Craddock called it a problem in jails “across the state.”   

“People are cloning or fabricating legal mail, which obviously has some ramifications-- we can’t just open up legal mail and search it due to attorney client privileges-- and soaking that into substances and then it’s getting into jails and they’re using it,” Craddock explained to the committee. 

Currently, Sumner County Jail does not have a mail detection system. According to Craddock, the detectors use radio frequency waves to scan incoming mail and determine if drugs are inside. 

But where will the money come from to fund this technology? Not taxpayers. 

“The dollars are coming about from the state due to opioid settlements, because people have either overdosed or have died from opioid misuse. So with that, we want to spend the money responsibly,” explained Dustin Owens, grant analyst for the committee. 

Owens said the opioid committee is working to fund three infrastructure projects that would provide immediate assistance, using community partners like Highpoint Health and Volunteer Behavioral Health. 

The committee approved the sheriff office’s half-a-million-dollar ask. A final resolution will come in July. 

“If the [county] budget passes on July 1st, then they will be able to buy those materials, as well as partner with Volunteer Behavioral Health, which is the key component. Scanners on their own are not a deterrent,” said Owens. 

The sheriff’s office also requested funds for a second body scanner for inmates entering the jail. 

News 2 reached out to Sheriff Craddock for a comment on Friday, but did not hear back at the time of this publication.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/sumner-county-jail-could-soon-get-new-device-that-detects-drugs-in-mail/