The Sheriff's Office deploys a state-of-the-art biometric information (facial recognition) system at the Middlesex House of Corrections and at the Cambridge Superior Courthouse and jail in order to identify wanted offenders, potential security threats, and known terrorists as they enter the building. The facial-recognition system scans visitors and then compares the information against various databases. If a potential threat is identified, officers are alerted to the persons and the threat level he/she represents, thereby guiding the most efficient and appropriate response. At county correctional facilities, inmates are placed on the Body Orifice Scanner System (BOSS). Comparable to an X-ray machine, the BOSS is a nonintrusive measure that assists in identifying and confiscating contraband before it is smuggled into the facility. The county also uses an IDENTIX system that allows real-time fingerprint analysis to be shared and cross-checked by a variety of law enforcement databases nationwide. The need for enhanced communication led to the establishment of the Sheriff's Area Law Enforcement Release Transmission (ALERT) system, which uses e-mail transmissions to share pertinent information on released inmates with local and State police. Further, the sheriff's office, with the help of the Massachusetts State Legislature and the U.S. Congress, designed and secured the Community Command Center, the most technologically advanced mobile command center in the region. The vehicle contains state-of-the-art communications technology that can be used at any disaster scene.