ALBANY, N.Y. — Dozens of mothers, wives and girlfriends are getting suspended from visiting loved ones in prison when body scanners make it look like they’re trying to sneak in drugs.
News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean has reported on this issue all month. Now the stories of these women are starting to make change.
A bill in the state now, if it passes, should help these women. It’s only happening to women because the prison body scanners are mistaking tampons, contraceptives and surgical meshes as contraband, and the mothers, wives and girlfriends get suspended.
“This legislation is about more than scanners. It’s about dignity,” State Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest said.
Forrest and Senator Julia Salazar are pushing a bill that deals directly with the problem News10NBC is exposing. Mothers like Susan Fowler in Albion and girlfriends like Mary Kay Hargather in Webster were suspended from visits when prison guards thought their body scan images showed drugs.
“It’s just embarrassing to be accused of something that you didn’t do,” Hargather said to us on March 14th.
The bill makes radiologists look at the scans. It also sets rules if the scans show something out of the ordinary.
“Visitors are either turned away or even suspended from visiting their loved one for simply having items like menstrual products, tampons, this is a real thing we hear about all the time,” Sen. Julia Salazar said.
In a statement earlier in March, the state Department of Corrections wrote “DOCCS does not deny entry for those menstruating or those using hygiene products, and body scanner procedures do not discriminate on the basis of gender. The use of body scanners is an essential tool in enforcing the Department’s zero-tolerance policy for contraband and protecting the safety of those who live and work in our facilities. All policies are applied uniformly to ensure fairness while maintaining the highest standards of safety.”
Brean told Fowler that her situation and others like it have prompted this bill.
“I feel really relieved that someone is listening somewhere, even though I feel no one has listened to me,” Fowler said.
Susan Fowler is in the middle of a one-year suspension after guards thought her scan showed drugs in her pelvis. Not even a doctor’s note saying she had a surgical mesh changed the prison’s mind. Brean’s first story was at her home in Orleans County.
“Myself and everybody else should be able to defend ourselves first before they’re suspended,” Fowler said.
Brean asked Fowler what the status of her suspension is.
“Nothing. Not a word,” Fowler said.
“Come October when my year is up my anatomy has not changed. And this is going to happen again. They’re going to see something they believe to be contraband and I believe they’re going to suspend me again,” Fowler said.
The bill would also make guards and prison staff go through the body scanners. At a hearing last month, the commissioner of corrections said right now, 9 out of 10 guards opt out.
Highlights
All employees and visitors at state and local correctional facilities must undergo randomized security screenings, including body scanners, metal detectors, pat frisks, and canine searches. The bill introduces safeguards for medical exemptions, radiation exposure limits, and due process for visitors and employees accused of contraband possession during scans. The legislation responds to concerns about contraband smuggling by employees and procedural fairness for visitors, following recent controversies in New York correctional facilities.Detailed Summary
The bill amends the public health and correction law to require security screenings for everyone entering state and local correctional facilities. All individuals (employees and visitors) must be subject to body scanners within radiation regulations; protocols will ensure randomized use of body scanners, metal detectors, pat frisks, and canine searches. Employees operating body scanners for less than six months cannot deny a visit without supervisor review; two full-time radiologists are to be hired for consultation and training. Pregnant individuals and children under 18 are exempt from body scans due to radiation concerns. Body scanner and pat frisk searches must be conducted by staff of the same gender; if not possible, alternative search methods must be used. State facilities must record visitor and employee processing using stationary and body-worn cameras. Visits cannot be canceled or restricted to non-contact if scanners are malfunctioning; alternative search methods must be used and contact visits allowed. If a person nears their radiation limit, alternative search methods must be used, visitors must be notified two scans before reaching the limit, and contact visits permitted. Protocols are established for handling accusations of contraband based on scan images, including the involvement of radiologists. Procedures ensure medical exemptions to body scanners are recognized. Employees may face reassignment or discipline for wrongfully denying visits or entry. Reporting requirements are established for screening activities. The bill is justified by reports of contraband brought in by employees, ongoing issues with visitation access, and alleged unfair denial of visits due to scan anomalies. The NYS 2024-2025 Executive Budget allocated $13 million to deploy body scanners in correctional facilities, but current policies primarily require them for visitors, not staff. The bill seeks to address both contraband issues and protect visitors and employees from arbitrary denial of entry or visitation. Fiscal implications for state and local governments are yet to be determined. The bill will take effect sixty days after becoming law.News10NBC Investigates: Mothers and partners face unfair suspensions due to prison body scan errors, prompting new bill in Albany WHEC.com.
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