Surrey Police Service Pilots Biometric Scanning for Jail Cells

Surrey Police Service (SPS) has taken steps to monitor the health and safety of those in custody in SPS’s jail cells by using biometric scanners.

In March 2025, SPS began the process of installing biometric scanners in several adult and youth detention cells as part of a pilot project to determine whether biometrics could be used to better monitor and safeguard the health of those in SPS’s custody. This innovative approach to ensuring detainee’s health uses continuous, non-invasive monitoring of vital health metrics, enabling timely interventions and personalized care. From tracking heart rate variability to detecting anomalies in respiratory rates, biometric monitoring provides invaluable insights into the physical state of our detainees. This proactive approach empowers detention staff, including the Jail Nurses and BCEHS paramedics should they need to attend, the ability to deliver specific and timely medical intervention, preventing potential health crises or fatal incidents.

Between January 2020 and July 2024, the cells provided services to approximately 300 prisoners each month. In 2023, there were a total of 3,728 prisoners lodged in cells. When a member of the public is arrested and held in police custody, it is expected that the detainee will be cared for. Police have a legal obligation, as custodial providers, to ensure the detainees are safe from any harm, including accidental medical deaths, overdoses, and suicides.

This is why SPS is following the lead of the Regina Police Service, Vancouver Police Department, Sarnia Police Service, RCMP F-Division, Winnipeg Police Service, and many other police agencies across Canada with implementing live biometric monitoring of its detention cells and closing the gap on health monitoring of detainees that could save their life.

“This person-centered approach fosters a more humane and compassionate approach to detention management. When we invest in the ability to provide an important and potentially life-saving program, not only will it provide comfort to the families of detainees, but also our members,” says SPS Chief Constable Norm Lipinski. “Police detention has always been an area of significant risk for police agencies and, as past inquests have highlighted, we have an obligation to our members and the public to find innovative solutions to ensure people’s wellbeing and prevent any in-custody injuries or deaths.”

At an initial one-time cost of $36,000 and a monthly fee of $1,000 to provide technical support, SPS has procured the biometric instruments from a Toronto-based healthcare technology company. It is radar-based and are designed to help cell staff protect inmates’ safety while prioritizing privacy, security, and staff’s wellbeing. Capable of detection through clothing, blankets, and even mattresses, the cutting-edge radar technology evaluates vibration patterns emitted from heart and breathing patterns, enabling cell guards or Jail Nurses to react immediately with potentially life-saving medical interventions if changes to the inmate’s wellbeing are suspected. Importantly, the sensors require no wearables on the detainee, has no video or recordings, uses no software to operate, and requires no battery to change-providing a completely autonomous real-time wellness-monitoring solution.

As SPS continues to grow and assume responsibility of more policing and public-safety-related duties in Surrey, the Service will continue to explore innovative technology to make police operations more efficient and effective with a focus on providing the highest levels of care.