Arizona sheriff buys scanners from China firm sanctioned by feds

A Chinese biometrics company on a U.S. watch list reportedly won a $5 million no-bid contract to provide eight body scanners and related services to a sheriff’s office in the state of Arizona.

The company that the Maricopa County’s sheriff bought from has a history of questionable business practices, some of which the federal government constitute national security threats and others are anti-competitive. And the sheriff’s office says officials knew this when they cut the check.

The news outlet Arizona Republic investigated the $5.3 million purchase this spring by Maricopa County’s sheriff because no formal bid process was held to find the best hardware and software on the market. Biometrics were not among the systems purchased.

According to the Republic, the sheriff’s office contacted multiple scanner makers and asked for an online demonstration of their wares.

Reporters also found that the systems integration company selling the scanners, Secure Technology Value Systems, describes itself as a U.S. firm based in the state of Pennsylvania. It reportedly changed its name from NucTech, a Chinese firm sanctioned by the federal government for having a too-close relationship with Beijing officials.

Another Chinese firm, Shenmutek Co., reportedly makes the scanners.

The Department of Commerce has charged that NucTech had sold underperforming radiation scanners that could hide otherwise illicit sales that add to nuclear proliferation.

The systems purchased by the sheriff’s office only search for drugs hidden by people entering county’s five jails. Phoenix is in Maricopa and accounts for most of the state’s residents. The jails are understaffed and riven with powerful narcotics.

The sheriff was able to avoid the time-consuming bidding process by making this purchase part of already-executed contracts. The office has said the goal was to act quickly to end a string of drug deaths in the jails.

The existing contract was with a Maryland distribution company, Safeware, which purchased the Secure Technology Value Solutions scanners.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  government purchasing  |  law enforcement  |  NucTech  |  prisons  |  United States