Rhode Island prison deploys new inmate eye scanners
This summer a Rhode Island prison inmate was able to walk out of prison by posing as another inmate who was up for parole; the state Department of Corrections has deployed an eye scanner in the prison that checks inmates’ eyes to ensure identity
The Rhode Island Department of Corrections is implementing new eye scanning technology to help prevent future inmate escapes.
Two eye scanners are being used at the ACI to ensure inmates are not swapping identities to escape. “Biometrics are those things about us, physical characteristics that enable another person to identify who the individual is,” Sean Mullin, BI2 Technologies president explained.
WPRI.com reports that efforts to implement the technology were already in place when inmate Nayquan Gadson escaped this summer , but the process was sped up after the incident.
“It virtually prevents the likelihood of a false release in the case of misidentification,” Mullin said.
Gadson was able to walk out of the ACI in July by posing as another inmate who was up for parole.
He was later captured in New York.
Between 35 and 50 inmates are processed into and out of the ACI every day.
The scanners were obtained at no cost to the state. They cost about $800 a year to maintain.
