Improved tagging system for monitoring offenders in home detention programmes

Kurzfassung

A UK company has developed an improved tagging system for the management of home detention programmes. The system uses a smaller tag that operates at longer ranges with extended battery life due to low power consumption. The developer is seeking partnerships for licensing opportunities and comercial agreements with technical assistance.

Details

Law enforcement agencies worldwide have come to recognise the value of Home Detention as an effective, non-custodial, alternative to prison. Home detection programmes have been shown to preserve family structure, decrease re-offending rates and reduce operating costs.

Home detention can help offenders reintegrate into society. Offenders are deprived of their liberty for a major part of the day while some structure and order is introduced into their lives through their ability to take employment, attend education or rehabilitation schemes and take on family responsibilities
The success of home detention programmes is very dependent on the robustness and integrity of the electronic systems used, as perceived by both the operators and offenders. An offender must believe that any failure to comply with the conditions of the programme will be detected and result in penalty.

A UK company has developed and now manufactures an advanced system of offender monitoring electronics for use by law enforcement agencies. The system integrates state-of-the-art components and advanced data processing technologies to produce a robust and infinitely flexible system that is cost effective to implement and straightforward to use.

This system offers particular advantages in relation to competing solutions. The electronic tags are on average 10 to 20% smaller (72 x 35 x 18mm) and lighter (70g), than conventional tags. They have an extended battery life due to lower power consumption – up to 15 months. Furthermore the tags operate at a longer radio frequency range than competing tags at 120 metres .
The integration of cellular phone, satellite positioning (GPS) and the core components of this system give the criminal justice authorities a valuable new tool to add to the traditional range of non-custodial sentencing options.

Continuous real-time surveillance (active tracking) can be used for the close supervision of higher risk category offenders in the wider community. The detailed retrospective mapping and analysis (passive tracking) of an offender's whereabouts can be used to support inclusion and exclusion orders and has been shown to assist in the detection of crime.

Innovative Aspects:
- Smaller than competing tracking devices
- Operates at a longer range
- Battery can last for 12 months