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| Inmate tracking - A Major Step Forward |
| Zama Feni reports in SA Corrections Today |
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| Minister Nconde Balfour launched South Africa's inmate tracking
system (developed by the Exponªnt/Pytron Consortium) at the Durban
Westville Correctional Centre in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal in
November last year. |
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The launch, attended by representatives of other departments within
the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, marked the
introduction of the country's first inmate tracking system following a
decision earlier to develop and run a pilot system at the Durban Medium
A and Johannesburg Medium B correctional centres.
Minister Balfour urged the JCPS Cluster departments to strengthen ties
between them and to cooperate with one another with one common objective
in mind and that is the fighting of crime. "No part of the criminal
justice continuum can be dealt with in isolation of the other," he said.
The Minister stressed that DCS cannot justifiably lay sole
accountability for the extremely high number of awaiting-trial detainees
at the door of either the SAPS or the Department of Justice. DCS has as
much responsibility as those departments to deal with the issue and so
too the Department of Social Development. |
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| What does the inmate tracking system aim to achieve? |
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For many years now the integrated justice system was burdened by a
problem that was simple yet extremely difficult to solve. This was
especially true at correctional centres such as the Johannesburg Medium
B and Durban Medium A that house approximately 8 000 and 6 500 awaiting
trial detainees, respectively.
The basic problem was that if an awaiting-trial detainee wanted to hide
his identity once inside the correctional centre it was very difficult
to identify or detect him. One would ask why would a person want to do
that? The answer is simple.
By not responding to calls to attend to court appearances they delay
court processes, perhaps in the hope that their cases will be struck
from the role or they may have other dubious reason. Mixing identities
with those of other detainees and attending court cases on their behalf
may also open the way for bail being granted to the wrong persons.
Whatever the reason, the fact is that to successfully trace an offender
inside a correctional centre until now required a roll call of all
detainees with their fingerprints being taken and compared to those on
the detention warrants. This is a timeous process that can take days to
complete.
The inmate tracking system has the capability of tracking the detainee's
whereabouts within the correctional centre at all times, day and night
and to immediately identify the position of the detainees within the
facility. It then becomes easy for correctional officials to locate
detainees who do not respond to their names. The system has a memory
capacity that renders it an immense aid during the investigation of
transgressions by offenders. It can for instance indicate who was inside
a specific cell or within a specific area when a felony was committed.
It will thus contribute in establishing a safer environment for staff
and offenders since transgressors will think twice if they know that
they will be tracked down.
The inmate tracking system will cut down on the need to postpone cases
as a result of non-appearance, the incorrect identification of
detainees, delays in the court hearings and it will even assist in
preventing escape and the creation of a safer prison environment. |
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| How does the system work? |
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The inmate tracking
system solution entails a personal tracking device being
physically attached to the detainee's wrist. |
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Transceiver units
placed around the holding facility environment continually
receive the data being transmitted by any number of personal
tracking devices within the reception area. |
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The collected
information is continually being communicated to a computer
system installed within the identified control area. All
relevant information is displayed and it even alerts officials
to tampering with the device. |
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The transceiver units
are located in such a manner that their reception capability
covers the designated area. It is also designed to minimise
tampering. |
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Mobile personal
digital assistants are provided within the holding sections,
allowing officials to interact with the system. |
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In addition,
fingerprint capturing devices (biometrics readers) and digital
cameras are connected to the inmate tracking system, which
allows for the electronic capturing of fingerprints and photo
images. These are then attached to the computerised files of the
detainees and stored within the inmate tracking database. |
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The inmate tracking
system also allows for more effective and rapid verification of
the identity of detainees in support of other operational
processes such as admissions and releases, roll-calls, visits
and bail payments. |
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