SANDD Offers Peace of Mind to Officers

With the impending roll out of Sharp And Needles Destruction Device, the incoming Parish Sheriff says the devices will increase safety and create peace of mind.

A device that incinerates the needles of syringes is being installed into 20 units. Incoming Sheriff Tim Soignet said the $179.99 price tag per unit is a small price for what they provide. (Watch a demo video of the devices here.)

“The idea is the safety of the officers,” Soignet said. “Because, if an officer gets stuck, then you have to deal with certain protocols: okay now he has to get shots, he has to be monitored, and all these things can be time consuming and for the fact of the unknown when the officer got stuck it’s like, ‘oh my God.'”

While this hazard was part of the job, Soignet said the removal of this unknown is most important. The device allows an officer to “incinerate” the needle portion of a syringe, in the field without damaging potential evidence. This removes a potential hazard which could otherwise pose a risk for blood borne pathogens.

There’s more to handling the needles than just collecting them. The officers then have to transport them back for evidence, and before this device had to move the contents to another vessel for evidence.

“There’s always a risk, and this minimizes that risk. When you send those types of things for evidence… they won’t take needles. So you’d have to open it and try to seal evidence,” he said.  “At 85000 degrees fahrenheit it melts it to the nub. It basically seals everything inside for evidence purposes.”