44,000 PRISON INMATES TO BE RFID-CHIPPED
August 02 2004
No escape for Ohio jailbirds...
One US state reckons it's cracked how to keep track of all of its 44,000 prison inmates - RFID-chip them. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) has approved a $415,000 contract to trial the tracking technology with Alanco Technologies.
The pilot project will run at the Ross Correctional Facility in
Chillicothe, Ohio. If all goes well, the technology could be rolled out to all of the state's inmates in 33 separate facilities. Inmates will wear "wristwatch-sized" transmitters that can detect if prisoners have been trying to remove them and send an alert to prison computers.
Staff will also wear the technology on their belts so they can be tracked for security purposes. Warders can activate an alarm themselves but the alert will also be sent if the transmitter is forcibly removed or the warder is knocked down.
Alanco claims system can pinpoint the location of staff and prisoners in real-time and track them within the confines of a prison. The Ross project is not the first such rollout of tracking chips in US prisons. Facilities in Michigan, California and Illinois already employ the technology and Robert R. Kauffman, Alanco CEO, said he expects three new states to sign up to use RFID technology.
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Technology Systems International, Inc. (TSI)
TSI is a developer of proprietary, wireless Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), location and tracking technology, trade named "TSI PRISM," utilized for area security management, primarily focusing on the correctional facilities market. TSI commenced marketing of the TSI PRISM system in 2001 and successfully completed a $1,000,000 installation of its first commercial system in a Michigan juvenile facility during March 2002.
TSI Technology: Unique, Proprietary and Patented
TSI PRISM technology addresses the weaknesses of conventional correctional facilities security and safety with state-of-the-art wireless RFID and tracking technology, providing real-time identification and tracking of inmates and staff at two-second intervals twenty-four hours per day, 365 days per year.
The foundation of the TSI PRISM technology was developed for the U.S. Department of Defense by Motorola, Inc. in the early 1990's. Concurrently, TSI was awarded a methods and use patent incorporating radio frequency technology for locating individuals in confined areas. In conjunction with its own patent and seven (7) licensed patents from Motorola, TSI has conducted extensive product research to miniaturize components of the original system and develop proprietary software programs. In addition, TSI also licenses certain tamper detecting technology from BI Incorporated. To date, approximately $26,000,000 has been invested in the TSI technology, including $9,000,000 by Motorola, Inc. in pre-TSI research and design and approximately $17,000,000 by TSI shareholders. TSI is unaware of any competitive technology capable of real-time RFID tracking of thousands of individuals simultaneously within a confined environment.
The TSI PRISM wireless (RFID) tracking system consists of five primary components: a tamper detecting wristwatch-sized RF (radio frequency) transmitter for inmates, a belt-mounted transmitter worn by the officer staff, a strategically placed array of receiving antennae, a computer system and TSI's PRISM application software. TSI's proprietary algorithm software simultaneously processes multiple thousands of unique radio signals received every two seconds from the wrist and belt worn transmitters to pinpoint an individual's location and track that individual in real time as they move about the facility. Entry into a restricted area or attempts to remove the transmitter device signal alarms to the monitoring computer. The officer transmitters can also signal an alarm by manual activation of an emergency button, or automatically, if the officer is knocked down or the transmitter forcibly removed from his belt.
TSI's technology provides much more than real-time individual identification and tracking with its array of database and software applications. The system automatically records all tracking data over a prescribed period in a permanently archived database for accurate post-incident reporting and future reference. A host of management reporting tools are available that include medicine and meal distribution, adherence to pre-determined time schedules, restricted area management, and specific location, arrival and departure information.
Initial $1.4 Billion Market Opportunity: Corrections Industry
The corrections industry represents the largest initial market opportunity for the TSI PRISM technology. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are over 5,000 correctional facilities in the United States and Canada. The initial target market for the TSI PRISM system is the approximate 1,400 existing minimum, medium and close security Federal or State prison facilities with over 500 inmates each that cumulatively represent a $1.4 Billion market potential. Larger populations, greater facility density and new facility construction demand modern management tools.
The number one priority of corrections administrators is the safety and security of the public and their officer staff. The industry has embraced and employed numerous technology advances aimed at this priority concern. Nothing offered before, however, improves security to levels possible with TSI PRISM's real-time tracking of inmates and staff throughout a facility coupled with instantaneous alarm activation by a triggering event, such as wristband removal.
TSI PRISM serves to reduce escape attempts and incidents of inmate violence simply due to the inmates' perception of being watched 24/7, providing potential savings in medical, litigation and investigation expenses. A single escape, for example, can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars if sheriff, municipal and state police are called in to search for the escapee. The archived database, which can prove unquestionably which individuals were in a specific area at the precise time of an incident, can also result in significant cost savings relative to investigation and legal expenses.
TSI PRISM also performs a perfect inmate "head count" every two seconds! Potential productivity improvements and cost savings are possible through reducing the centuries-old practice of manually counting inmates 5 to 10 times per day. Deployment of the TSI PRISM system also can result in cost savings through reduction or elimination of other expensive facility security equipment and/or procedures, such as armed guard towers, electrified fences and other costly perimeter security devices.
The State of California is recognized as a national leader for the corrections industry, particularly relative to new technology application. Following six years of extensive research, product development and beta testing, California has cooperated with TSI since early 2000 to operate a pilot site at a minimum-security facility in Calipatria, California. Larry Cothran, Executive Officer of the Technology Transfer Committee, California Department of Corrections, has stated, "The TSI PRISM technology will change not only the way inmates live, but how staff run the institutions. This will revolutionize prisons in California and nationwide." (As quoted in CDC's Correction News.)
For additional information about TSI products, visit TSI's website at www.tsilink.com, via e-mail at
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