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Cell Phones/Inmate Telephone Issues
Drug/Alcohol
Electronic Monitoring
Contraband Detection
Green Technology
Information Technology
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Countering the Threat of Jammers to Offender Tracking Programs 

  

 

Welcome to the April, 2013 issue of the Corrections Technology Center of Excellence monthly Newsletter. 


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Cell Phones/Inmate Telephone Issues
 

The Baltimore Sun reports that 25 people, including corrections officers were indicted for conspiring to run operations of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang inside Maryland correctional facilities.   Key to the BGF's success was its ready access to cellphones, which it used "to arrange sexual encounters, conduct the business of the enterprise ... and to coordinate with members of the enterprise outside the prison," according to the indictment.

 

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ABC News reports that New South Wales Corrective Services in Australia will conduct a trial of cell  phone jamming technology in a prison later this year.  This concept has been discussed since 2009 and in December the Australian Communications and Media Authority granted an exemption to laws that prohibit the use of jamming technology.  The trial will be conducted at the Lithgow Jail.

 

 

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The New York Daily News reports that a Pennsylvania jail inmate was charged for possession of a contraband cell phone.  Officers found the phone and its charger hidden inside the inmate's prosthetic leg during a cell search.

  
Drug/Alcohol

According to this article appearing on KHOU.COM, synthetic urine products are widely available for people looking to defeat a drug test.

 

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MyNorthwest.com reports that continuous alcohol monitoring devices have been used to supervise over 7,000 offenders in the state of Washington.  That number could grow even higher if legislation passes that aims to increase accountability and penalties for DUIs.

 

 

Electronic Monitoring
 

This Los Angeles Times article describes a lawsuit related to California's recent procurement for electronic monitoring - a contract worth more than $51 million over six years.  California conducted a series of performance tests which they claim demonstrate the inadequacy of the low-bidder's technology, a claim disputed by the vendor.  The contract was awarded to a competitor.

 

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According to the Denver Post, the Colorado Department of Corrections has revised its response protocol regarding tamper violations.  The agency now requires parole officers to visit the offender's home within two hours of the time the agency receives notification of the alert.  The policy change is related to the Tom Clements murder.  The man suspected of killing Clements, the Director of the Department of Corrections, removed his RF-home detection anklet several days before the murder.

 

 

  
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The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts released a report regarding the David Renz case in upstate New York.  According to an article appearing on Syracuse.com, the Northern District of New York's probation department ignored 46 tamper alerts from Renz's GPS device over nine weeks before Renz was arrested and charged with murdering a school librarian and raping a 10 year old girl.  In addition, the report references several federal policies related to supervision and monitoring were not followed in this case.

 

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According to this article appearing online at Newschannel5.com, a Tennessee sex offender on probation has been arrested on a new murder charge.  Investigators learned that the offender was at the crime scene on two different occasions for several hours through the offender's GPS tracking device. The offender later admitted to the murder.

 

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A judge in Orange County (FL) has suspended the GPS monitoring program for pretrial defendants.  The Orlando Sentinel reports that the move came after a tracked defendant allegedly shot a man and removed the tracking device.  The program and the private vendors that manage it are under scrutiny.
 

 

In a related story appearing on WFTV.com, advocacy groups for victims of domestic violence are concerned about the implications of the program suspension and note that GPS has been a useful tool in domestic violence cases.

 

 

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According to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, the Assembly Committee on Corrections met to discuss a recent report that cites interviews with 13 offenders who contend the states GPS tracking system repeatedly fails and reports false alerts.  Legislators heard from representatives from the Department of Corrections who describe the technology as a "very, very useful tool".  The state's proposed budget recommends $10 million in new funding for expanded use of GPS tracking over the next two fiscal years.  The funds are required for the expected increase in the number of offender monitored due to a recent law change which allows judges to order GPS tracking for domestic violence offenders.

  

Contraband Detection

 

The National Institute of Justice funded a project to explore the feasibility of the use of Electric Field Tomography (EFT) as a method for developing a low-cost, non-invasive, body cavity screening device. Click here for the report prepared by Morpho Detection.
 
 
Green Technology

This CorrectionsOne.com article describes how institutions can save money by different approaches to composting.

 

Information Technology

This article appearing in Government Technology describes the Indiana Department of Correction's Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification system (SAVIN).  Like other notification systems SAVIN shares custody information about offenders with crime victims and citizens, however the new system allows for personalized notifications, giving registrants control over how and when they are notified.  The new system has reduced operating costs by 25 percent as compared to the previous system.