If you want to find out how well a product works, ask the people who use it daily. They’ll tell you the truth.
Take Eclipse Screening Technologies’ VeroVision Mail Screener, for instance. Currently used in more than 100 U.S. correctional facilities, the VeroVision Mail Screener was specifically designed to detect and presumptively identify the chemical composition of dangerous substances. These include drugs such as fentanyl, ketamine, synthetic cannabinoids, methamphetamine and others, as well as various cutting agents that may be hidden under stamps, concealed in envelope glue seams or edges, or soaked onto paper. According to the company, VeroVision is the only imaging-based sensor available today that can detect and presumptively identify illicit drugs smuggled into a facility on or in mail items.
“Our screening technology is based on shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging, which is a technical way of saying that we use filtered light to visualize chemical information from mail items,” said Rebecca Schuler, Eclipse Screening Technologies’ Chief Operating Officer.
“Here’s how it works: The VeroVision Mail Screener has a lighted base unit on which the item of mail sits. The light shines upward through the piece of mail, passes through the filtering mechanism and reaches a SWIR light-sensing camera in the sensor above. The imaging data is then recorded and analyzed with our proprietary software algorithms. Because different chemicals, including illicit drugs, will transmit and absorb light differently, the software can analyze the incoming light to evaluate the various chemistries in the mail item and determine the presence or absence of illicit material. Following a positive detection, the illicit material can be presumptively identified.”
“We also provide a mobile solution for our VeroVision Mail Screener,” she added. “This allows officers and/or staff to take the Mail Screener to the incarcerated person for mail items, such as privileged communication, that require the individual to be present during opening and inspection.”
“The next generation of the VeroVision Mail Screener will be released shortly,” Schuler said. “It will feature faster scan times, better image resolution, AI-powered presumptive identification of both solid and sprayed/soaked drugs, and more comprehensive reporting and data analysis capabilities. It will also, for the first time, be available as a subscription — rather than purchase — making it more affordable for many facilities.”
The users speak
Before we go any further in describing the VeroVision Mail Screener, let’s hear what its users have to say about it. All these testimonials and more can be found on the company’s website.
Let’s start with the 2022 Essex County (New Jersey) Correctional Facility Final Report: “The Essex County Department of Corrections uses the VeroVision Mail Screener to detect illicit substances in inmates’ incoming legal mail,” the report said. “As a result, incidents of mail contraband seizures dropped by 54% in one year.”
“The VeroVision Mail Screener works as advertised,” said the Polk County (Oregon) Jail. “On our first use of the machine, we detected mail laced with suboxone. This scanner has been an invaluable tool in our battle to keep dangerous contraband out of our facility and our staff and inmates safe.”
“With mail volume of two facilities in our processing center, the VeroVision Mail Screener technology has been embraced by our mail staff,” said the Suffolk County (New York) Sheriff’s Office. “The screener has helped to provide a layered approach to efficiently interdict drugs in the mail by allowing us to take the proper and necessary steps in our continued fight against illicit drugs entering our facilities. All levels of staff are seeing the benefits.”
Speaking of benefits
The benefits cited by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office concerning the VeroVision Mail Screener are just some of the features offered by this contraband-busting system.
First and foremost, deploying the VeroVision Mail Screener in a correctional facility environment is a straightforward and fast process. “We designed it so that it was really easy to use, and required very little training,” said Schuler. “All that is required to train a new operator is a two-hour initial online session, which is recorded and provided to the facility. This is then supplemented by hands-on training with corrections staff when the system is installed at the facility.”
Second, the logic that drives VeroVision Mail Screener — derived from Department of Defense screening technology — is proactive. While competitors’ screening systems look for anomalies — many of which can be harmless and irrelevant, like a unique envelope glue formulation, leading to a “false positive” — the VeroVision Mail Screener uses chemical detection to detect and identify illicit drugs in or on mail. It can presumptively identify substances such as K2-soaked paper or an envelope laced with fentanyl that present a danger to personnel and places. By using near-infrared light, VeroVision reveals what cannot be found with visual or manual inspections by humans. In this way, the system keeps both incarcerated individuals and staff safe.
Third, the VeroVision Mail Screener is a one-click system that is fast, efficient and adaptable. New drug chemical profiles can be added to the system as soon as they become an issue for a facility. Meanwhile, the results detected by VeroVision are shown on the system’s touchscreen monitor interface, using high-quality images that show exactly where the substance was detected on the piece of mail, and which specific chemical was detected.
“What our users appreciate most about the VeroVision is being able to presumptively identify the substance that is detected,” Schuler said. “This gives them a sense of clarity and certainty that anomaly-based systems can’t provide. That, plus the ability to respond, quickly, safely, and appropriately, gives our customers enormous reassurance.
“Given how much is at stake in screening mail at correctional facilities these days — how much risk there is to safety and health due to fentanyl and other dangerous contraband drugs — would you want anything less to ensure the protection of your staff and inmates?”
To learn more about the VeroVision Mail Screener and how it can reduce contraband at your facility, click here.
