How Widespread is a SPARTAN’s Versatility?

When you first hear the word “SPARTAN”, you probably think about the mobile device that correctional officers use for inmate tracking. However, this blog will discuss how different agencies have used the SPARTAN’s widespread versatility to operate other corrections-related services and entirely different markets other than jails or prisons.

Ankle Monitoring System

David Boruchowitz, Captain of the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, knows firsthand the versatility of GUARDIAN RFID’s device, the SPARTAN. Working in Nye County, Nevada, David understands that resources are limited in the community. David and his team wanted to provide inmates with minor offenses the ability to serve their time from the confines of their homes while continuing to work and support their families. Inmates that are given this privilege wear an RFID wristband around their ankle, allowing officers the ability to monitor them just as they would inside facility walls. This practice of operation is known as the Ankle Monitoring Program.

Nye County started operating with GUARDIAN RFID products in 2018 and started the Ankle Monitoring program in 2019 to help decrease population overcrowding inside the facility. Once the COVID-19 outbreak hit, it also eliminated the amount of virus exposure. Although there aren’t as many inmates inside the facility, it doesn’t decrease the staff's amount of work. Officers are still responsible for tracking inmates on house arrest just as much as inmates behind cell doors. Although they may have a different procedure for tracking the inmates outside the facility, they follow the same standards of frequency and duration times. Verifying off-site inmates is no different than verifying on-site inmates, you’re able to control logging and reporting the exact same way. Having identical standards allows a very small window for inconsistencies, furthering facility safety and security.

Nye County’s jail holds roughly 120 inmates and allows 9 to 10 inmates to be a part of the Ankle Monitoring Program at a time, meaning they allow 10 percent of their population to serve their time from house arrest. How are inmates selected to have this opportunity? It’s 100 percent up to the judge. Most of the selected inmates have minor offenses, but everyone who is designated to be on house arrest instead of incarcerated is court ordered. In fact, there’s been a case where a judge sent an inmate to a rehabilitation center with an ankle monitor so Nye County could still verify him/her in their headcount checks in the Ankle Monitoring Program.

We didn’t have any hesitation when implementing this new practice. The handheld devices worked so well in the facility, and we wanted a way for those with minor offenses to still be able to support their families. It was a win-win.

David Boruchowitz

Captain of Nye County Sheriff’s Office

Tracking Chemical Distribution

One of the fan-favorite features of Warrior Technology is the ability to customize a personal workflow to solve a unique problem. For example, one facility had “chemical control” as a factor in their accreditation process, so the facility wanted their staff to utilize only one entry point for the accreditation staff to only pull one set of reports. For this facility to minimize their tracking points of entry in their facility, they created a custom workflow with their SPARTAN devices to track the distribution of chemicals to living units along with the common amounts that are issued. Therefore, the accreditation staff could quickly find satisfactory audit requirements.

Animal Shelter Tracking

If you’re a lover of animals, this is the perfect feel-good story for you. An animal shelter is now using GUARDIAN RFID technology to track the activities of its residents. Yes, their animals. Luckily, this county has a tight-knit community and is abundant with volunteers who are passionate about the care of the shelter animals. They use SPARTAN devices to track what animals are registered in the shelter, when they are fed, when they are moved to a new location, what animals they’ve been in contact with, any medications they are receiving, if a potential adopter is interested in them, etc. GUARDIAN RFID SPARTAN devices are very versatile and customizable as they changed their modules from stating “inmates” to “residents”, which can be used on animals instead of humans! The only difference between using this device on animals rather than residents is that you can’t require a signature from an animal.

Working with your GUARDIAN RFID project manager or training team is the best way to learn more about these efficiencies as both teams have a deep knowledge base and rely on each other to creatively problem-solve issues, such as those discussed above. We hope these three examples give you a glance of all the ways the SPARTAN can be versatile and fit the needs of any facility.