Why 3 Jail Admin Switched From Guard Tour to GUARDIAN RFID
Tired of accumulating and storing boxes upon boxes full of paper logs? How about burning hours upon hours of valuable staff time searching for information through stacks of paperwork? Maybe stressed due to concern over staff compliance and accountability? Or maybe your current system, which was purchased in the late 90s or early 2000s and was the “cat’s meow” at the time, is painfully in need of an upgrade?
Whatever the reason may be, you’re on the right track, you finally want to automate your facility’s security rounds. Luckily for you, you’re in good company. Hundreds of other corrections facilities have been right where you are. Over the years, many of these agencies have made the switch from a traditional guard tour system to GUARDIAN RFID and its inmate tracking system.
You may be wondering "Why?" The GUARDIAN RFID team members spoke with three jail administrators from different states to understand why the administrators chose to switch to GUARDIAN RFID for their inmate tracking needs.
“I Needed Something More Than Just a ‘Blue Wand’”
Tracking systems in correctional facilities have evolved from paper and pen to inmate-tracking technology. Some methods work for some agencies, but not others.
It all comes down to the agency’s specific needs, goals, and limitations. If you’re simply documenting when rounds are completed, sure, Guard Tour is fine. However, to enhance your capabilities, you need to go elsewhere.
This was taken into consideration by a GUARDIAN RFID customer in Searcy, Arkansas. White County Sheriff's Office Jail Administrator, Clayton Edwards, realized his agency had outgrown their Guard Tour system. He then began his search for the ideal technology to optimize and automate his facility's workflow. Edwards shared some of his guidelines when selecting a solution:
“I decided I needed to find something that I could rely on to keep up with my jailers’ actions and interactions with the inmates, moves made with the inmates, items supplied to the inmates, and anything else that could possibly be logged in reference to an inmate and that is customizable to my specific needs.”
Jail Administrator Clayton EdwardsWhite County Sheriff's Office
Setting these guidelines not only helps pave the way for agencies to know what they want, but more importantly, what they DON’T want.
“I knew that I wanted something technological so that the records could be kept up with digitally. I needed something more than just a ‘blue wand’ to log a time. I also knew that I needed to find something out there that was established and on-the-ground running. I did not have the luxury of time and did not need the possibility of becoming a Guinea pig for new technology.”
Jail Administrator Clayton EdwardsWhite County Sheriff's Office
"It was a Platform that was Light-Years Ahead”
In the Cornhusker State, Nick Shimmil, Jail Administrator of Otoe County Sheriff’s Office, shared his experience in corrections with tools they’ve leveraged throughout the years.
“When I first became jail administrator at the age of 23, we had an iButton-based guard tour system. It worked OK. However, it was extremely limited in the data it could capture. We had what was called a ‘wallet’ that held a few extra rows of these silver buttons programmed for our use. But the whole setup was cumbersome. Staff had to hold the ‘wallet’ and they had to hold this wand-like device. There were no free hands. And the data it captured really wasn’t that detailed or useful.”
Jail Administrator Nick ShimmilOtoe County Sheriff's Office, Nebraska
This issue is not foreign to other agencies. Convenience is often a huge problem for facilities that use Guard Tour systems. Having to juggle these different tools is just not realistic for correctional officers considering all the work they already have their plates full with. So, what can be done to minimize what officers are lugging around?
Shimmil shared why he switched to GUARDIAN RFID:
“The first time we saw GUARDIAN RFID, we knew instantly that this would be a major step forward for us. It was a platform that was light-years ahead. And it integrated with our jail management system. That ability in itself was a tremendous advantage because now we weren’t logging data about just locations but about people – the inmates in our care. Logging data about inanimate places isn’t particularly useful – especially in litigation matters.”
Jail Administrator Nick ShimmilOtoe County Sheriff's Office, Nebraska
And he’s 100% correct, security rounds are meant to observe and document inmate activity and behavior, not inanimate objects. Simply documenting the time you observed a room is only helpful to a certain degree, whereas observing and reporting each inmate’s activities goes that extra step to securing a safe and well-managed facility.
"I Immediately Felt a Liking to GUARDIAN RFID”
There is often a wake-up call that pushes agencies to realize that they need more advanced inmate tracking systems. For example, a Jail Administrator, Nick Whitmore, at Hardin County Sheriff’s Office in Eldora, Iowa, shares when his facility realized they needed to adopt a new inmate tracking system.
“We’ve had some significant incidents in the last ten years with one being a successful suicide and one being a serious attempted suicide. At the time of the successful suicide, we reviewed our practices, which obviously included records management, and subsequently went with GUARDIAN RFID.”
Jail Administrator Nick WhitmoreHardin County Sheriff's Office, Iowa
Regardless of the extremity of the situation, there is often something that pushes agencies towards more efficient and effective technology adoption.
“At the time, we were recording our checks and activity within our jail management system. However, it was only as accurate as the person entering the information. We were making checks and had an excellent presence within the cell. However, our method of recording didn’t articulate that anywhere close to what was actual. This became painfully obvious when we investigated the suicide and charted all aspects of it. We could prove a lot more than we had written down.”
Jail Administrator Nick WhitmoreHardin County Sheriff's Office, Iowa
When something to this extent occurs in a facility, having accurate, detailed, and easy-to-locate documentation of the officers’ and inmates’ activities is essential. The fact is that technology is more efficient and convenient than paper logs. But not all technology is equal, and where one falls short, another picks up the slack.
“We met with and ultimately entered into an agreement with GUARDIAN RFID. I immediately felt a liking to GUARDIAN RFID because of the size of the company and their responsiveness. We had researched other companies and, in fact, had just installed an iButton system, but scrapped it immediately once GUARDIAN RFID came along. We have been with GUARDIAN RFID since their correctional inception and have watched them grow and become a significant player in the correctional community. The fact is that we still get the same personal, effective responsiveness every time I talk to any of their people.”
Jail Administrator Nick WhitmoreHardin County Sheriff's Office, Iowa
Take it from these three jail administrators who have firsthand experiences with challenges regarding convenience, capabilities, efficiency, and accuracy with their Guard Tour systems. Which is what pushed them to ditch it. After identifying the issues at your facility, administrators must choose new technology and tools to address them. It all comes down to what your facility needs. Adopting advanced technology with these extended capabilities of tracking and documenting inmate activity is transformative for a facility's security, safety, and management.