Celebrities, as of late, have
brought vital status services (VSS) to the attention of the mainstream. VSS are
an off-shoot of location-based services, with a focus on the real-time location
of people and very valuable assets. GPS-based VSS (not to be confused with
electronic monitoring, which is best for a confined areas, such as house
arrests) lets the wearer to move about more freely (while constantly monitored)
and costs in the vicinity of $10 a day, versus the $60-plus a day of
incarceration.
Leaders in Community Alternatives
(LCA), a San Francisco
organization that works with the public sector to create custom programs that
promote a more successful criminal justice system, is a proponent of a
GPS-enabled ankle cuff made by Omnilink. Linda Connelly, president and founder
of LCA, considers the returns on investment to be numerous and diverse.
“It’s a great deterrent,” says
Connelly. “It keeps people from going to certain neighborhoods where they could
get into trouble. Knowing that someone is watching 24/7—it’s a constant
cognitive reminder. When someone has to focus on a schedule, and do what’s
right every time, it helps them to later
follow that constructive behavior
because a habit has been created and practiced.”
Connelly says LCA tested several GPS
products on the market but wasn’t happy with the results until it found
OmniLink. Its tracking device is lightweight, waterproof and has a rechargeable
battery that lasts up to 21 days with light usage and three days in scenarios
of intense monitoring. The tamper-resistant band requires no tools to install,
and it’s said to be able to track a wearer to within 50 feet, even in
signal-resistant environments such as subways, buildings, armored vehicles and
tunnels.
Omnilink’s Focalpoint software is
based on a “management by exception” architecture, which means that officials
can set predetermined conditions and be alerted by an email, fax, pager, text
message or voice call if those parameters are violated. It also enables victims
to be pro-active about their safety by downloading the application onto any
off-the-shelf cell phone. If an offender wearing a court-mandated device comes
close to the victim (or rather, to the phone), the victim and appropriate law
enforcement are instantly and simultaneously alerted.
“The solution offers huge savings to
government and really pays for itself,” says Connelly. “We’re currently trying
to assist Mendocino
County, a rural area with
remote outlying areas that are hard to cover, to assess how GPS might help them
manage their caseloads and provide services to the community.” She emphasizes
that no device is a replacement for face-to-face counseling—“The human
interaction has to be there,”—but the Omnilink solution is a positive tool in
their arsenal.
“Consider the benefits of a being
able to have a family stay together, and a father—or a mother—who’s working,
versus splitting the family up and putting the children into foster care. Plus,
there are the costs of jail and the price of courts and police arrests,” says
Connelly. “We’re locking up non-violent offenders who could be working in their
communities and supporting their families.”
Do offenders wearing tracking
devices have higher rates of reform than those who are jailed? “It’s really
hard to say,” says Connelly. “That’s a big weakness in the field right now. We
need long-term studies. But if you look at our recidivism rates of 70 percent
right now, it’s clear something isn’t working. It’s time for some new ideas.”
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