Campbell County Sheriff’s Office hopes new breath test machine will free up personnel
GILLETTE — Those stopping by the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office may notice a new piece of equipment on display after Campbell County installed an AB Kiosk, which provides users a way to self-administer an alcohol breath test while they’re on the Sheriff’s Office’s 24/7 Sobriety Program.
“Essentially, it’s just a big, portable breath test, like the PBT,” said Detention Lieutenant Thomas O’Neal.
Installed two weeks ago, the kiosk, leased to the Sheriff’s Office by Precision Kiosk Technologies at $1,750 per month, was placed in the waiting area of the building to help with the county’s 24/7 program. The hope is that the machine will help speed up the testing for alcohol use. No problems have been reported so far.
“We’re still working out the bugs in it, but it’s going to be more convenient for our agency and it is going to help with personnel,” said Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny.
Judges can order people to be on the 24/7 Sobriety Program program as part of their bond conditions. They have to remain on the program until the judge says otherwise.
There are portable breath tests for alcohol, and mouth swab and drug patch tests for controlled substances.
Those in the program taking the breath tests are required to stop by the sheriff’s office twice a day. The self-testing kiosk frees up manpower for other tests and allows those undergoing the test to get back to their day more quickly.
“From (6 a.m. to 9 a.m.), when we do the morning session, there’s quite a few people there,” O’Neal said. “And a lot of those folks are actually doing a form of drug testing, either doing the swab or the patch and applying the patches and stuff can be a little bit time consuming… This way the people that are on the alcohol protocol for 24/7 can walk in (and do) their tests. They actually pay their money right there at the kiosk and then the techs can focus out there on the swab and the patch.”
Those using the machine will take a straw from the machine and, once signed in, video themselves taking the test.
“They can do that in probably a minute and a half, start to finish, if there’s no issues,” O’Neal said. “They’re done and they walk out.”
For his part, while O’Neal noted that while using the machine does take away the personal connection of the deputy who would administer the test, participants are still encountering members of the sheriff’s office during the 24/7 process.
The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is one of the first in Wyoming to use the machine; the idea came to Wyoming from South Dakota, much like the 24/7 program itself. Ever since Campbell County implemented the program in 2017, it’s been trying to get other communities to get on board.
O’Neal noted that these machines could be extremely useful for small county sheriff departments, where manpower and budgets could be extremely limited.
“I know there’s a couple other counties in Wyoming that are looking into this,” said O’Neal. “For some of the smaller counties the question becomes, can you afford to hire more employees for that or where do you put an extra room if you’ve even got it available at your agency? This kind of simplified that a little bit for some of the smaller agencies wanting to do 24/7.”
This story was published on February 11, 2025.