May 18, 2005
The largest jail system in the US just launched a test project with
Alanco Technologies in an effort to better track prison inmates using RFID
technology.
The first phase of this pilot project will involve setting
up a system in the 1,800-inmate facility of the Pitchess Detention Center
in Castaic, CA., by this fall. If it succeeds and if sufficient funding can
be obtained, the county will then install the system throughout its prison
facilities.
In prison networks with such technology, RFID readers are planted throughout a jail in such large numbers that bracelet-wearing inmates can be continually tracked.
When an inmate comes within range of a sensor, it detects his or her presence and records the event in a database.
Thus, if an assault occurs at night, prison officials can look at the RFID logs and identify who was at the scene at the time of the incident. Tampering with the bracelet sends an alarm to the system. The system can also warn of gang gatherings.
Here's the opportunity you were waiting to register your
domain name!
Orwellian as tagging sounds, inmate violence has declined in prisons where similar RFID systems have been installed, according to Alanco. Guards also wear RFID tags in these facilities.
"The primary concern of the sheriff's department is the safety of both our staff and the inmates housed in our facilities," said Marc Klugman, chief of the Sheriff's Correctional Services Division.
In 2004, there were an estimated five inmate deaths, and injuries to 1,742 inmates and 88 jail staff in the seven facilities that make up the L.A. county jail system, according to the county.
Alanco estimates that the prison system alone could become a billion-dollar market, while jails could account for $500 million to $700 million in revenue.
Source: C-Net News
Bookmark this Tech Blog by
clicking here.
Home |
Write to us
