How Can My Agency Pass a Jail Inspection When My Electronic Jail Check System Identifies and Logs Every Single Late Security Check?

Without a doubt, documenting your rounds with pen and paper is the cheapest option. The term "cheapest" was used instead of "most cost-effective" intentionally. While pen and paper may be the lowest-priced option, it’s also the least effective due to its inherent quality and accountability issues. Officers are more likely to inaccurately document their activities when relying on this method. Officers might delay or neglect their checks entirely without someone physically supervising them to ensure log entries are completed (consider the case of Jeffrey Epstein, for example). 

Relying on pen and paper means trusting the accuracy of handwritten logs. If a supervisor has that level of confidence in their staff, that’s commendable. However, if not, verifying logs against video footage to detect potential falsification is neither easy nor quick. While technology can be a pain, pen and paper presents its own challenges. Supervisors often find it difficult to audit logs—which are often illegible—and managing physical storage can complicate matters, especially if records are kept off-site. It becomes clear why using pen and paper can expose agencies to greater liability.

Understandably, officers may feel hesitant to adopt new technology, as they are accustomed to their current documentation practices. Supervisors play a crucial role in helping their staff recognize the benefits of an electronic rounds system, demonstrating how it ensures timely jail checks and protects against liability. The ease of auditing jail checks may lead officers to feel micromanaged when supervisors want to review their logs. In such cases, supervisors must engage in open discussions with their staff. Utilizing audit reports as a coaching tool should be aimed at supporting officers and enhancing their performance, rather than creating "gotcha" moments that could lead to disciplinary action.

Pros and Cons

In corrections, we hear the term “liability” quite often. Beyond ensuring the safety and security of inmates and staff, administrators must also focus on improving agency practices to reduce liability. Administrators are tasked with identifying areas where the agency may be vulnerable and take proactive measures to mitigate these risks. Thankfully, electronic round systems can play a significant role in this process.

This technology makes up for the deficiencies of traditional pen-and-paper documentation, such as deciphering poor handwriting, verifying the accuracy of logs through video footage, managing physical storage space for records, and more. Using an electronic rounds system means that the officers are forced to leave their desks to physically look in, observe the inmates, and scan tags. (Hint: proper tag placement ensures staff move throughout the housing unit and physically walk by each cell.) Electronic rounds systems help to ensure officer proof of presence. 

For example, GUARDIAN RFID’s SPARTAN 3 handheld device must almost touch the tag to log the jail check. Jail checks and other officer/inmate interactions are documented at the point of responsibility and at the moment the activity occurs. All logs are stored in the cloud and can be accessed at any time by agency staff. GUARDIAN RFID’s Operational Intelligence and Command Cloud technology not only shows agencies their late checks but also identifies the agency’s risk points and provides the information needed to address and improve those areas.

Like any other technological tool, implementing an electronic rounds system comes with a cost. There are typically initial start-up expenses for training, implementation, hardware, and software, along with annual fees. However, discussing these costs with those who prepare the facility budget can help evaluate the expenses related to previous litigation (as well as the potential costs of future litigation) and demonstrate that this is a no-brainer. Even if the cost remains a concern, exploring the Inmate Welfare Fund and searching for other available grants as funding alternatives can make the decision that much easier.

Needless to say, there are pros and cons to every method of documentation. Whether the issue is price, efficiency, manual labor, or other factors, what matters the most is how the pieces are picked up after a serious litigation problem. Use a bad situation as a learning experience to grow from. Start regularly monitoring your jail checks and take proactive steps to ensure all rounds are conducted promptly and properly logged. Doing this will make your officers more accountable, and your agency will reduce its liability.

Why Electronic Jail Check Systems?

The infamous statement, “Our electronic rounds system highlighted my agency’s late officer rounds, and we failed our jail inspection, so we went back to pen and paper,” is painful to revisit, but let’s be clear: no system is completely foolproof. If your agency has an electronic rounds system, it is imperative that supervisors monitor and audit jail checks to ensure compliance. You cannot assume that all jail checks are compliant. 

However, an electronic rounds system with advanced audit reporting enables you to quickly and easily identify risk points, whereas using pen and paper would make it virtually impossible to audit 100% of your jail checks every single day. Deficiencies will not be corrected unless they are identified and addressed. 

For example, let’s say you’ve started to experience regular tightness in your chest and difficulty breathing. To be safe, you schedule an appointment with your doctor and later find out that you have extremely high cholesterol. Your doctor suggests that you change your diet and start exercising daily to prevent further damage to your body. Now that you have accurate information on how to fix your problem, you are faced with two options: listen to your doctor or continue living your current lifestyle. What do you decide to do? 

This same question applies to what you do when you learn that your team is failing compliance. If your team recently failed a jail inspection due to your electronic rounds system identifying late jail checks, do not disregard the system that identified the problem. If you do, you are simply sweeping the real issue under the rug. Switching back to pen and paper is equivalent to putting your head in the sand, which will only expose you to greater danger. Ultimately, the most important job of a correctional officer is to uphold the facility’s safety and security, and we know electronic rounds systems can assist you in your mission of getting your team home safe.