Eye scanner could save $70K a year

CELINA - A new eye scanner that detects drug abuse could save the sheriff's office an estimated $70,000 per year or more.

The PassPoint.net System would greatly minimize the use of urine tests, reduce staff time and possibly nix the current need for a new, full-time officer, Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said on Tuesday.

"We were going to hire another corrections officer but now we may not have to," he said. "At least for now we're going to put a hold on that hiring."

County commissioners on Tuesday approved a one-year lease at $1,900 per month for the PassPoint.net equipment from Drug Impairment Detection Services LLC, a New York-based company.

The lease will be paid with funds from the 0.5 percent sales tax collected for the jail. The local Tri-County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services agency has agreed to pay $5,000 toward initial costs.

Grey said his office last year spent about $43,000 for urine test kits, which cost $6.40 each and must be administered by an officer. The PassPoint.net System is a self-test procedure that requires a jail employee to be present only on the initial set-up and scan, Grey said.

"And we can run as many tests as we want on the scanner and it only costs us that monthly fee," he said, adding updates and maintenance expenses are included in the lease.

The machine mainly will be used for people with substance abuse issues who participate in the county's drug court program, Grey said. Each person must undergo periodic - in some cases daily - urine tests and achieve "clean" results to remain in the program, he said.

"Sometimes when they come in here (sheriff's office) they have to wait awhile if our officers are tied up doing something else," he added.

Plans are to place the scanner in an isolated area near the lobby where only test subjects would be granted access, Grey said.

A person's fingerprint would be scanned to confirm identification before the test is conducted. A test subject must register "clean" on the initial reading to establish a baseline, Grey said.

The equipment scans both eyes in about 17 seconds and prints out a receipt stating whether the result is a positive or negative reading. Results are immediately emailed to the court probation officer. A positive result will prompt an immediate urine test to further confirm a "dirty" reading, Grey said.

If he's not satisfied with the scanner after the first year, Grey said he can opt out of the lease. The equipment currently is used by Greene, Montgomery and Miami counties but, no other agencies in the Grand Lake area.