Associated Press
MANSFIELD, Ohio — An Ohio jail is adjusting how it processes in-coming inmates because of the state’s ongoing addictions epidemic.
The Richland County Jail started operating a body scanner at the 266-bed facility in Mansfield in April.
Jail administrator Capt. Chris Blunk tells the Mansfield News Journal that defendants with a history of drug abuse or who act strangely on the way to jail are scanned right away.
The jail has also begun tracking numbers of inmate overdoses. Officials monitored 26 opioid-related withdrawals in July and 10 in August.
Treatment center Catalyst Life Services added three staff members in July to the two already working at the jail because of the growing demand for services.
The state says a record 4,050 Ohioans died of drug overdoses last year.
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