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Do I Need to Use Wi-Fi With GUARDIAN RFID?

GUARDIAN RFID technology was built to streamline the workflow of correctional facilities of all magnitudes. One common question with this technology is: “Is Wi-Fi required to use GUARDIAN RFID?”

Whether it be conducting security rounds, ensuring inmates receive their medicine, transporting inmates to different locations, distributing meals, or whatever else might cause a time-consuming task, officers all want things to go smoother. Without the right technology to streamline daily operations or effectively organize data, easy tasks that should take only a few minutes, often take up hours of valuable time and engery.

As you’re juggling these daily responsibilities, the last thing you need to worry about is if the data you’re collecting is syncing to your internal database in real time. This leads to the topic of whether or not your facility needs Wi-Fi, especially if it’s utilizing GUARDIAN RFID technology. 

In this blog, we will cover the most frequently asked questions related to Wi-Fi usage with GUARDIAN RFID.

Why Does Wi-Fi Matter?

First and foremost, you don’t need Wi-Fi in order to use GUARDIAN RFID. However, it does have advantages.

Wi-Fi matters because corrections professionals need to know what’s going on now, not what happened 30 minutes ago, two hours ago, or last Tuesday. They need to know what’s happening right now. To avoid delays in data sharing, Wi-Fi is necessary as it powers real-time data sharing to help you generate the business intelligence you need to create a safer, more connected facility to protect your team.

For example, a common use for connecting mobile devices to Wi-Fi is to synchronize the data officers collect, such as inmate-specific observations and interactions with inmates during security rounds. If you’re using GUARDIAN RFID to automate this data as well as track inmate movements or log supply passes, this data is temporarily stored on your handheld scanner until it has been synchronized to the facility's reporting platform.

Wi-Fi helps automatically “push” this data to their internal reporting platform as well as other staff members with a GUARDIAN RFID device, known as the SPARTAN. Without Wi-Fi, staff rely on other staff members to go manually find a cradle (otherwise known as a device charger), drop their device into the cradle, and sync. This method is inefficient and quite frankly, outdated. It’s been a longstanding turnoff for correctional facilities using proprietary guard tour devices.

However, if this is a method that makes the most sense for your facility’s unique needs, then you will need to “store and forward.” This is GUARDIAN RFID lingo for describing a SPARTAN that has data needing to be synchronized, but is outside of Wi-Fi range. In this scenario, the data remains on the device until connectivity is established. Once this occurs, the data can be pushed to the GUARDIAN RFID Cloud. It takes only 1-2 seconds to push data up, so the length of your connectivity to Wi-Fi only needs to be brief.

In full disclosure, GUARDIAN RFID does not sell, install, or support any Wi-Fi network. It is recommended to defer to your internal IT department or networking vendor for all Wi-Fi-related questions. However, RFID can say that, in general, Wi-Fi access points and the physical installation costs (cable pulling, if necessary, and labor costs) are the primary cost areas.

Wait, what’s an access point?

Where Should We Place Our Access Points?

An access point (AP) is a hardware device that enables Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect to a wired local network powered by an Internet-accessible router. 

Access points should be deployed wherever staff commonly walk or work. With GUARDIAN RFID technology, you don’t need wall-to-wall coverage. You can drop APs wherever it makes the most sense for staff to connect their SPARTAN devices. For example, ideal locations to consider deploying an AP are:

  • Segregated housing units (SHU): You don’t need Wi-Fi in every pod; you may find it’s more useful and practical to drop an access point centrally in the hallway that connects the pods of the SHU. When staff enter these pods to collect data, and then exit, your SPARTAN will auto-sync device data to the Cloud instantly.

  • Podular direct supervision facilities: Drop an access point inside the housing unit since your SPARTAN doesn’t often leave this area.

  • Podular indirect supervision and linear style facilities: Centrally deploy your access points to enable Wi-Fi access in hallways and corridors or near your control rooms to create zone-like areas of Wi-Fi coverage.

  • Dorms: If it’s direct supervision, drop an AP in the dorm. If it’s not direct supervision, it’s up to you - just don’t make staff have to walk a long distance to connect to Wi-Fi.

  • Sallyport: Not necessary, but you can drop an AP in Booking for SPARTANs assigned in that location to sync cell checks on holding cells. Plus, transport deputies can auto-sync their SPARTANs as soon as they walk into Booking.

How Do I Protect My Wi-Fi Network?

You can protect your Wi-Fi using a combination of approaches including the suggestions below:

  • SSID: Decide whether to hide or publish your SSID (Service Set Identifier). Hiding it alone doesn’t mean that it’s completely blind, but it’s a good measure. Hackers have the tools to sniff traffic from your network, work to discover the SSID, and try to force intrusion. This is not likely, but it’s possible. But if you’re broadcasting your SSID, you’re only inviting those to try to connect to it.

  • Password: Set a strong username and password to your Wi-Fi (at least 20 characters long with numbers, letters, and various symbols).

  • Encryption: Activate network encryption. WPA2 AES is a global standard. It will be replaced by WP3, which uses individualized data encryption that scrambles the connection between each device on the network and the router. Always try to use WPA2 with AES only. You should avoid the WPA [TKIP] + WPA2 [AES] option as it’s much less secure.

  • MAC filtering: This is up to you, but MAC address filtering adds an extra layer to this process. Before letting any device join the network, the router checks the device's MAC address against a list of approved addresses. If the client's address matches one on the router's list, access is granted as usual; otherwise, it's blocked from joining.

If you’re weighing GUARDIAN RFID and its SPARTAN device in the context of real-time data collection, think about what data you need to collect. How critical is it to share that data with other staff members? What inefficiencies might result if you deploy GUARDIAN RFID without Wi-Fi? 

If you’re concerned about information latency and delaying staff’s ability to share collected data and gain operational awareness from that data, Wi-Fi can absolutely help. Wi-Fi is a smart, strategic, and practical way to achieve the real-time automation and insight your facility has long needed, but was unachievable with log books or outdated guard tour devices.

Wi-Fi in correctional facilities has seen faster adoption than ever before. GUARDIAN RFID, electronic medical record (EMR) systems, and inmate tablets are some of the drivers resulting in a proliferation of jails and prisons that are more connected than ever. Investing in Wi-Fi is investing in improving and streamlining workflows within your facility by providing real-time insights and opening a line for faster communication between officers, further stronger connectivity between all staff members in your facility.