Can Hard Tags be Mounted Where iButtons Used to be Located?

What was once a commonplace system in jails, iButtons and wands were symbiotic devices compromised of a product category known as “guard tour systems.” Guard tour was a location-based system that would indicate when an officer was physically present whenever they came into contact with said iButtons and wands.

However, over time, facilities began dropping their guard tour systems due to their poor durability, limited applications, and lack of accuracy, leading facilities to adopt inmate tracking systems. This transition included replacing the traditional iButtons and wands with RFID Tags, known as Hard Tags, and Android-based mobile devices, known as SPARTANs. 

As this shift occurred, a common question arose: Can we (and should we) mount our Hard Tags over our previous iButton locations? 

The answer is: sometimes yes, and sometimes no. How is that possible? We’ll break it down. 

Common Locations for iButtons and Hard Tags

Guard tour systems were primarily focused on completing well-being checks and security rounds - often conducted throughout housing units and perimeters. While there were other use cases for iButtons, for the purposes of this blog, we’re focusing only on security rounds. 

iButtons were commonly mounted in the following locations: 

• Outside (or just inside) housing units. 

• Corners of a lower- and upper-tier pods

• Shower/bathroom areas 

• Perimeter areas outside the facility 

• Individual cells (especially those requiring frequent checks, such as 15-minute intervals) 

In the case of Hard Tags, we recommend placing them in similar locations – or wherever blind spots may exist, especially where officer proof of presence is necessary. This helps ensure staff presence in these key areas, therefore enhancing security.

iButtons vs. Hard Tags

Here’s where the distinction between iButtons and Hard Tags becomes clear: Hard Tags, especially when used with our mobile application, Mobile Command XR, offer several unique features that underscore proof of presence for compliance and defensibility - advantages that iButtons lack. These features include: 

1. Programmable time capabilities:

Hard Tags can be programmed to be “on” at certain times of the day and specific days of the week. For example, a jail in Georgia installed Hard Tags in its court holding area, one for each of its eight cells where deputies would log security checks. However, one Friday evening, a deputy completed their rounds on the cells and left for the night, unaware that an inmate had fallen asleep and was still locked in their holding cell. 

The inmate was discovered Monday morning – rightfully disgruntled after spending all weekend in the cell. Within 72 hours of the incident, the jail upgraded its system and mounted Hard Tags inside the cells (complementing the outside cell tags). 

They programmed these tags to be “on” Monday through Friday until 17:00. This ensured that deputies would need to scan not just the outside of each cell, but the inside as well, verifying a complete and thorough sweep of the area. This type of deep sweep check confirms there are no contraband, damage, or inmates left unaccounted for.

2. Real-time monitoring:

Hard Tags are programmed with Mobile Compliance Monitor (MCM), a patented software tool that enables real-time monitoring of the time remaining between each security check or observation check. MCM color-codes checks like a stop sign: green for on-time, yellow for checks nearing a two-minute warning, and red for checks that are late. 

Unlike guard tour systems, which simply use timers or schedules to prompt checks at set intervals (e.g., every 15, 30, and 60 minutes), the MCM provides officers and leadership with real-time awareness of each check’s status. Many jails that had a guard tour system had also adopted kitchen timers to augment their staff’s ability to remember when to start rounds. However, inmates picked up on their predictability. 

The problem with this is that the level of scheduled reminders creates an observable, predictable pattern of behavior by inmates. This is what we call, The Window of Fuckery (yes, you read that right). When inmates can anticipate staff starting to conduct their rounds, they will stop whatever illicit behavior they’re engaged in – whether it’s drugs, assaulting an inmate, or even shooting a TikTok live. Then they’ll resume as soon as the officer is gone. 

Command Cloud has several features designed to curb this predictability. One of these tools is Staggering Score, a patented, quantifiable measure of the randomness or predictability of officer rounds - providing prescriptive intelligence on how to make rounds more unpredictable, thus improving overall security and effectiveness of security checks. 

3. Run Tags for multiple cells:

Hard Tags can also be programmed as “run tags.” These allow you to link multiple cells together. So, when you scan a “run” tag, users can see a list of all inmates assigned to that run.  This makes it easier to track inmate-specific observation checks. 

4. Integration with Jail Management Systems (JMS):

Hard Tags are automatically linked to housing assignments and inmate names through seamless integration with your jail management system (JMS). So when you scan a Hard Tag, the system automatically identifies which inmates are assigned to that specific cell at that exact time. This integration eliminates manual data entry and reduces errors by ensuring that checks are linked directly to the correct inmates. 

In contrast, guard tour iButtons only log your presence, recording the time, date, location, and user ID associated with each scan - as well as any other iButtons that may have been “probed” in your wallet of extra iButtons. They don't integrate with your JMS, nor do they provide any insight into who is actually in the cell at the time of the check.

What is the Best Way to Mount a Hard Tag?

Hard Tags are designed to be mounted with two screws, typically stainless steel security screws (if your maintenance team doesn’t have a preferred brand, we’ve successfully used Fastenal products for hundreds of installations). Both GUARDIAN RFID Hard Tags and iButtons may use similarly sized screws (in terms of diameter and length), but their mounting patterns are different. This means you won’t be able to use the exact same hole pattern when switching from iButtons to Hard Tags. 

While some facilities use double-sided foam tape from 3M to mount Hard Tags in pods under direct supervision, we generally recommend avoiding an epoxy-based adhesive. Epoxy is messy, time-consuming (since it requires time to cure), and can be more expensive when you factor in the adhesive and the curing time.

Although Hard Tags and iButtons share some similarities, the key differences lie in how the underlying software utilizes these auto-identification devices. If you’re transitioning from iButtons, you may find yourself mounting Hard Tags in the same locations. However, you’ll soon discover that Hard Tags offer far more flexibility and programming capabilities compared to any guard tour system’s iButtons, making them a superior choice in a guard tour system.