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THE END OF PRIVATE PRISONS? A ONE-TWO PUNCH: AI & RFID

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Publisher’s Page Spring Jail Shows Kick Off Corrections Buying Season Biden Order Cancels Certain Private Prison Contracts The One-Two Punch Of AI & RFID

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The real cost of mass incarceration to defund the police, end inequitable bail practices, cease restrictive mandatory sentencing, eliminate excessive solitary confinement and put an end to the death sentence.

However, we don’t have control over these issues, and we tend to experience the system through our respective professional function.

Intuitively we know prisons and jails are just one part of the criminal justice system and the amount of media and attention that the various players get is not necessarily proportional to their influence.

One way to get an accurate assessment of what is happening in the criminal Justice system is to simply…follow the money.

Many of us believe we know the costs of mass incarceration but authors Peter Wagner and Bernadette Rabuy in their report “Following the Money of Mass Incarceration” published by the Prison Policy Initiative investigated this topic and, in a first-of-its-kind report, found that mass incarceration cost the government and families of justiceinvolved people at least $182 billion every year.

The infographic shows the relative economic cost of different parts of mass incarceration, but it can also obscure the fact that, in general, corrections is not a single monolithic system. Instead, we have a federal system, 50 state systems, and thousands of local government systems. Sometimes these systems work together, although often they do not; and looking at just the national picture can obscure the importance of state and local policy decisions.

The authors explore some of the under-discussed but significant parts of the system. For example: • Almost half the money spent on running the correctional system goes to paying the more than 750,000 staff, making them influential players.

• State, not federal, government spending makes up the majority of correctional spending.

• Revenues from telephone and electronic communication costs and commissary sales are typically borne by the family of the incarcerated.

• Jails alone are responsible for admitting 10.6 million people to the system.

• Bail bond companies collect $1.4 billion in nonrefundable fees from defendants and their families.

• Feeding and providing health care for 2.3 million people—a population larger than that of 15 different states—is $2.1 billion and $12.3 billion respectively.

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SOURCE: THE PRISON POLICY INTIATIVE

OFTEN it seems that our criminal justice system is being assaulted on all sides by protestations

In short, we are spending a substantial amount of money and any reasonable person must ask—what do we get for it as a society? For all of the billions we are spending each year, are we creating upright, productive, taxpaying citizens? If not, what are we doing?

The authors conclude: “To be sure, there are ideological as well as economic reasons for mass incarceration and over-criminalization. But at this moment, when crime is near record lows…we need a far more expansive view of how our criminal justice system works. If we are to make our society safer and stronger, we’ll need to be making far smarter investments than we are today.”

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BY BILL SCHIFFNER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Jail Shows Kick Off Key Buying Seasons April’s AJA moves to a virtual conference as TJA looks to be a live in-person event in May. With the Johnson & Johnson Janssen’s vaccine now joining those from Pfizer and Moderna in the battle against Covid19, it could prove to be a game-changer in helping the country get back to normal. As more people are getting shots in the arm, it could also help open up travel and trade shows moving forward, including those in the corrections industry.

This welcome news comes at a critical time as the spring and summer are key buying seasons for corrections administrators as they look for new and upgraded equipment and services for their facilities.

AJA Annual Conference & Jail Expo The American Jail Association’s 40th Annual Conference & Jail Expo, originally scheduled as a hybrid conference to be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, shifted to a virtual event (April 12-15) due to Covid concerns.

AJA Executive Director Chris Daniels said the AJA had the benefit of observing several other virtual conferences prior to selecting an online platform, and the conference exceeded the expectations of exhibitors and attendees alike. “Attendees had access to the same great content, which will be available to them 24/7 for a full year. We also extended a 33% discount off of our normal registration fee, so it was a great opportunity for jail professionals to experience our conference at a 6 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

reduced rate and without any additional travel expenses,” he added.

Among the products featured during the virtual event are the following.

X-ray Inspection System Smiths Detection was showcasing their newest X-ray inspection system, HI-SCAN 5030C that addresses a critical gap in commercial security screening solutions with its optimal size, durability and mobility. Combined with a market-leading HiTraX 3 electronic platform for superior image quality, the HI-SCAN 5030C is specifically designed to enhance security-screening operations from courthouses to corporate campuses. The HI-SCAN 5030C is their smallest X-ray inspection system and offers a wide variety of options, including stainless steel castors, storage compartment, 24-inch monitor,

newly designed keyboard with image manipulation keys, and foldable input/output conveyors.

It can be upgraded with add-on software packages for training and detection support.

1.203.417.0919, usa@smithsdetection.com, www.smiths-detection.com

Riot Gear Haven Gear was showing the value in outfitting law enforcement agencies with the most durable, safe and mobile defense technology possible. The company has worked countless hours to design and patent riot gear for the 21st Century. Riot gear that is flexible, versatile and, most importantly, safe. The Patrol, Enforcer and Arsenal Rapid Response Kit were made to ensure that the brave men and women of law enforcement are able to

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safely diffuse dangerous situations and be comfortable while doing it.

1.321.254.9569, www.havengear.com

Custody Management Software Northpointe Suite Custody Management offers an evolved approach to jails and other detention centers looking for a sophis-

ticated—yet uncomplicated— platform to manage all aspects of facility operations and oversight.

Bringing together data analytics, policy compliance, and decision support, this powerful system includes all the tools facilities will need for objective inmate classification; compliancy tools for

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PREA; pretrial management; screeners for mental health, suicide, and PTSD; program eligibility criteria; complete resident tracking and progress; risk/needs assessments; and reentry planning and management.

1.800.406.4333, greg.eash@equivant.com, www.equivant.com

sion partners access to critical inmate information, creating a chain of efficiencies, including automatically flowing information from one agency to the next.

1.800.431.5776, cjsales@tylertech.com www.tylertech.com/products/tyler-corrections

Jail Management Software

Managing Correctional Health Costs

Tyler Corrections is the comprehensive jail management software that automates business processes and drives efficiencies at intake, release and everything in between. The software is said to eliminate redundancies, reduces errors and costs, and ensures a safer, more efficient jail

operation for jail facilities of all sizes. Seamless integration and secure data sharing provide courts, public safety, and supervi-

Since 1992, Wexford Health has offered economic, clinically sound programs to manage correctional health care costs while maintain-

ing quality of care. Contact them to learn how Wexford Health’s comprehensive clinical expertise, state-of-the-art technological solutions, and innovative strategies can help improve your facility’s bottom line.

1.888.MED-MGMT (1.888-633.6468), www.wexfordhealth.com

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Correctional Health Services

tional facilities, 120 juvenile detention centers, and 12 state Departments of Corrections

Corizon Health is member of the Valitas Health Services corporate family and offers quality health care services to states and municipalities across the country,

offering the only comprehensive solution for physical care, behavioral care and pharmaceutical services. With its corporate headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn., Corizon Health is a top provider of correctional health care services in the United States. The company was showcasing their latest programs for the corrections market.

1.800.729.0069, www.corizonhealth.com

Laundry Loop with Sock Snare Laundry Loops allows clothes to get thoroughly clean and cuts

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drying time, energy consumption and utility costs in half. The company’s patented Sock Snare is said to be the only efficient means available to secure multiple socks of varied thicknesses throughout the laundry process. The company also will showcase Laundry Loop PLUS, which is 5-inches longer than the original Loop, with Double Sock Snares to accommodate correctional laundry schedules.

1.888.246.5667, www.laundryloops.com

Pharmacy Services With over 30 years of correctional experience, Diamond Pharmacy Services is the nation’s largest correctional pharmacy services provider, serving over 700,000 inmates in 1,700 correc-

across 46 states. The Diamond Advantage offers a complete product line and specialized dispensing system pharmaceuticals, OTC, IVs, vaccines, medical supplies and commissary.

1.800.882.6337, www.diamondpharmacy.com

Annual Texas Jail Association Conference At press time the Texas Jail Association was planning for a live in-person show in Austin, Texas, for the 35th Annual TJA Conference, May 10-14. The conference will be hosted at the

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Renaissance Austin Hotel in the Arboretum, where attendees will be offered training through a variety of general and breakout sessions.

“We hope you will join us this year in Austin to take advantage of the chance to make new contacts with jail personnel and sheriffs from across the state.

Exhibits will be located inside the Rio Grande Exhibit Hall. The first day of exhibits will begin with two hours of exclusive exhibit time, Sharese Hurst, executive director at Texas Jail Association wrote to members.

Here is a sampling of products that will be on display.

Safety Smock

Inmate Tracker

The Lifeline Crossback Safety Smock from Bob Barker is said to be the most advanced option for resident safety smocks. The unique, patent-pending design

Guard1 Electronic RFID Inmate Tracking is said to make it easier and simpler for correctional facilities to reach 100% compliance by automating and organizing

Video Connect on Tablets Securus Technologies announces Securus Video Connect on Tablets, a new and convenient option for incarcerated individuals to communicate with family and friends. This digital tool is exclusively available

of the Crossback Safety Smock significantly reduces its ability to be used for self-harm by eliminating hook and loop closures and utilizing a one-piece construction. The shoulder straps are said to easily adjust to various body sizes. One-size-fitsmost smock simplifies inventory and eliminates the need for junior smocks.

1.800.334.9880, bobbarker.com

EHR Solution NaphCare is introducing TechCare, its newest EHR solu-

on Securus’ Unity Platform, offering the same video experience found on Securus’ ConnectUs terminals but through their handheld devices. With a single app, incarcerated individuals can participate in video connect sessions using their tablets rather than waiting for availability on the terminals.

Agency staff will have the ability to manage these video sessions.

Sales@SecurusTechnologies.com, SecurusUnity.com 12 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

tion to transform a facility’s healthcare operation. NaphCare now offers two corrections-specific EHR platforms—TechCare and TechCare GO, a new mobile-first EHR system that gives users the power of TechCare on the go.

1.844.849.3211, sales@naphcare.com, www.naphcare.com

officer tasks. With Guard1, it’s simple to electronically document well-being checks, inmate activities, handouts, headcounts, meal and medication distribution, and more. Instant alerts are sent directly to the control room and staff for incomplete or missed tasks. The Guard1 Platform continues to grow and expand, with new features, products and integrations.

1.800.THE.PIPE, sales@guard1.com, www.guard1.com

Stacking Tray Jones Zylon offers a meal delivery system especially for jails—a new 5-compartment self-stacking tray (no lids needed) that seals off each compartment. The trays are paired with small, medium or large heavy-duty correctionsgrade carts that fit a surprisingly large number of trays. It offers long-lasting casters and users can

add a heat box right away or add one later to convert to a heated cart.

1.800.848.8160, www.joneszylon.com/ServeSmart

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Inmate Tablets Built to withstand the corrections environment, GTL tablets have transformed how incarcerated individuals spend their time,

vocational training, law library), rehabilitation (substance abuse recovery, cognitive behavior therapy), communication (phone calls, video visits, messages), and entertainment (music, movies, games).

1.844.269.1981, salesinfo@gtl.net

Jail Management System SallyPort is a full-featured, browser-based jail management system, which provides increased efficiency and security for inmate records management through its many intrinsic features. SallyPort allows an agency to streamline its operations with My Queues and workflow, inmate screening and classification, intra-agency mes-

how corrections officers handle their jobs, and how family and friends connect with justiceinvolved loved ones. Tablets offer education (GED prep, life skills,

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saging, and Electronic Shift Log, which replaces paper logs. Other features include digital mugshot image capture, inmate time computation, inmate property inventory and transactions, standard and ad-hoc reporting capabilities, medical module, expansive audit capabilities, threat group assessment and more.

1.205.949.9900, www.blackcreek.com

Anti-Covid Security Screening CEIA USA, a premier provider of high-performance Security Metal Detectors announces the availability of a new anti-Covid security solution, the CEIA TDU (Thermal Detection Unit) upgrade sensing kit. This system provides the ability to include the automatic measurement of body surface temperature for people in transit while simultaneously providing the detection of metallic threats and other industry-leading capabilities.

1.888.532.CEIA, www.ceia-usa.com

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Care Coordination Services

Menus Meet RDA Standards

Centurion Health is a leading provider of healthcare services to state correctional agencies and serves seven state correctional systems (Delaware, Arizona, Kansas, Florida, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Tennessee).

Trinity is committed to providing food service programs that achieve these objectives three times a day, seven days a week.

More than 3,400 team members are dedicated to the corrections market and the management of more than 10,000 inmate workers to produce meals. This experience with facilities across the nation has enabled them to develop a thorough understanding of providing menus that meet the national standards for Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) and special diets. The company’s nationwide food network also ensures their ability to deliver cost efficiencies to their clients.

1.877.277.5452, www.trinityservicesgroup.com

Founded by two of the oldest and most respected companies in correctional healthcare and managed Medicaid—MHM Services, Inc. and Centene Corporation— Centurion brings a level of innovative care coordination services never before available to large correctional systems.

1.800.416.3649, www.centurionmanagedcare.com

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Vented Sheet Pan and Tray Drying Rack Cook’s Correctional Kitchen Equipment and Supplies has a new sheet pan insert for the pop-

ular Cook’s Brand Vented Tray Drying Rack introduced in late 2018. The new insert has slides at two inches apart to hold six sheet pans whereas the original tray

insert is at a universal 3-inch spacing, holding four insulated trays, sheet pans, even 2-1/2 inches-deep steam table pans or pan lids. The Vented Sheet Pan and Tray Drying Rack is designed to replace traditional stainless steel or aluminum tray drying racks with solid shelves.

1.800.956.5571, www.CooksCorrectional.com

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BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cancelled:

resident Biden’s executive order will not renew existing federal private prison contracts within the Department of Justice. The president framed his decision as part of an overarching strategy to address systemic racism that is needed to “stop corporations from profiteering off of incarcerating” people in facilities that he said are less humane and less safe; however, backlash from various corrections sources has clouded that reasoning.

On January 26th President Biden issued an executive order (EO) titled “Reforming Our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities” in which he states that “mass incarceration imposes significant costs and hardships on our society and communities and does not make

P

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Biden’s executive order has symbolic meaning, but how much will it impact prison reform?

us safer. To decrease incarceration levels, we must reduce profitbased incentives to incarcerate by phasing out the federal government’s reliance on privately operated criminal detention facilities.”

Biden furthers: “We must ensure that our Nation’s incarceration and correctional systems are prioritizing rehabilitation and redemption. Incarcerated individuals should be given a fair chance to fully reintegrate into their communities, including by participating in programming” that will assist them in reentry.

“However, privately operated criminal detention facilities consistently underperform federal facilities with respect to correctional services, programs, and resources,” the President said.

Despite the rhetoric, the issue may be more nuanced than it seems at first glance. Counter response from criminal justice

stakeholders casts a shadow on how significant the order will be to reform.

An NPR segment hosted by Audie Cornish with ACLU’s director of the National Prison Project David Fathi is a case in point.

National Public Radio notes that Biden’s EO directs the Department of Justice not to renew its contracts with privately operated prisons; this would affect about 14,000 federal inmates currently in privately run facilities. Yet, explains Cornish, “those who study mass incarceration in the U.S. point out that over 120,000 inmates are already in public federal prisons, and they're wondering what kind of impact this action will really have.”

Says Fathi: “The order to the Justice Department to end its contracts with private prisons is a very important step. It will not by itself end mass incarceration,

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but it will curb an industry that has a financial interest in perpetuating mass incarceration.

“This order is a very important step, but it is only a first step,” Fathi continues. For one thing, we—it is unclear what the timing will be of the phase-out of private prisons. The order directs the attorney general not to renew contracts with private prisons.”

He notes that it will be a very slow process that will take a number of years, so many years, in fact, that the administration could well change before any prisons actually close.

Fathi further points out that the order does not apply to immigration detention, where more than 80% of detained immigrants are held in private, for-profit prisons. Biden’s executive action applies narrowly to agencies managed by the Department of Justice and exempts some federal law enforcement agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security.

Thus the order applies to a very small fraction of the total 2 million incarcerated in the U.S. In 2019, private facilities incarcerated an estimated 116,000 individuals—or 8.1 percent of the nation’s total prison population, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

And of those 116,000, the order only applies to those detained by the Justice Department, which contracts with private firms to operate 12 prisons housing about 14,000 inmates nationwide or approximately 1% of total detainees in the U.S.

What’s at Stake?

How much money is at stake?

Even as the industry has drawn sharp criticism from criminal justice reform groups, the top private prison companies continue to net billions in revenue by contracting with federal, state and local governments, according to the Center for Responsive Politics

(OpenSecrets.org), a nonpartisan, nonprofit research group tracking money in U.S. politics. The nation’s two largest companies providing private prison services brought in revenue of roughly $4.5 billion in 2019.

GEO Group and CoreCivic, the two largest firms, both netted under a quarter of their total 2019 revenue from contracts with the DOJ, according to the companies’ 2019 annual reports.

GEO Group brought in 11% of its revenue from contracts with the U.S. Marshal’s Service and 12% from the Bureau of Prisons (23% DOJ). The company’s total revenue in 2019 was $2.5 billion.

CoreCivic brought in a revenue just shy of $2 billion, of which 17% came from the Marshal’s Service and only 5% from the Bureau of Prisons (22% DOJ).

Contracts with ICE, which will remain in effect, produced a significantly greater share of both companies’ revenue.

In expectation of an unfavorable presidency, private prison companies for the last few years have begun contingency plans.

Both GEO Group and CoreCivic have diversified their business models, buying up “reentry facilities.” In addition, CoreCivic has been steadily purchasing commercial office space since 2016, which it leases to government agencies.

For-profit prison companies also spend enormous money to lobby the federal government for decisions in their favor. For example, in 2020 the private firms spent a combined $4.2 million to lobby the federal government, one of the most expensive lobbying years on record for the industry.

According to Yahoo finance reports, both companies were already experiencing financial stress before Biden's executive order, with declining prison populations and increased expenses associated with maintaining health standards during the pandemic gnawing at their profits.

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Less safe?

Costs aside, part of Biden’s strategy was based on what he deemed “unsafe” private prison conditions.

A report commissioned by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice in August 2016 found that for-profit prisons “incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable [federally operated] institutions.” The DOJ reported that “Inmate-on-inmate violence was 28% more likely to occur in forprofit prisons, and inmate-onstaff violence occurred twice as often in private prisons than publicly run ones.”

Scope is ‘Minor’ But other criminal justice experts outline counterpoints.

“Ending the use of private prisons has become a major criminal justice reform talking point,” says John Pfaff, professor of law at Fordham University in a Washington Post commentary. “In 2020, nearly everyone vying to become the Democratic presidential nominee cited the issue as a significant step toward confronting the racial inequities of our criminal justice system.

“Yet the order contains fairly little to celebrate,” he says. “In fact, it may be a setback in efforts to create a more equitable criminal justice system.”

He says the “scope of the order is quite minor,” and reiterates it applies only to the federal prison system, and that it only affects only about 1.5% of the U.S. prison population.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has seen its prison populations shrink by about 42,000 people since peaking in 2012, and the system surely has enough excess capacity to transfer the 27,000 people currently in private institutions to publicly run facilities, he says. Tellingly, the union representing the correctional officers in public federal prisons cheered the order: The group understands CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 17

that this order is more about transfer than reduction.

Pfaff furthers: “These critiques basically add up to a symbolic order, which it is.”

Unfortunately, he fears that it may undermine efforts to reform our prison system more significantly. “It’s not so much that the order does little, it’s that it might actually do harm.

“To see this, we have to disabuse ourselves of perhaps our biggest misconception about private prisons, which is that they are somehow uniquely pernicious. At the end of the day, the public prisons are…close to identical,” the Post commentary continues.

“The tendency to single out the private ones risks obscuring the similarities between the two institutions, which in turn means that we are likely to overlook their similar problems—and the problems of public prisons occur on a much greater scale.

“There’s also no real evidence that private prisons have worse 18 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

conditions than public prisons,” he asserts. “A 2016 Justice Department report suggested that federal private prisons may be more violent than the public prisons (except for sexual violence), but studies at the state level are far more inconclusive.”

Private Prisons’ Statements CoreCivic (formerly the Corrections Corporation of America or CCA), owns and manages 77 private prisons, detention centers and residential reentry facilities across 19 states. In a January 26 statement the company said: “The federal government has experienced a steady decline in inmate populations over the past several years, so today’s announcement was no surprise considering the agency’s diminished need for capacity. It’s a trend we’ve watched carefully, and we’ve worked hard to diversify the solutions we provide.

“Providing our partners flexibility to manage ups and downs in their populations is one of the

most important ways we provide value.

“While we aren’t the driver of mass incarceration,” CoreCivic continues, “we are working hard to be part of the solution.” The firm notes its goal is to prioritize rehabilitation.

Its 2019 ESG report “shows we’re making real, measurable progress on our goals to expand proven reentry programs to fight recidivism and change lives.”

(ESG reporting is the disclosure of data explaining a business's impact and added value in three areas: environment, social and corporate governance, and offers nonfinancial metrics for transparency and sustainability.)

The CoreCivic report refutes greater violence in their facilities compared with public institutions. “The 2016 Inspector General’s report cited today [January 26] has significant flaws. For example, its authors freely admit that they ‘were unable to evaluate all of the factors that contributed to the underlying data,’ and they failed to account for the impact of elements such as population demographics. The findings simply don’t match up to the numerous independent studies that show our facilities to be equal or better with regard to safety and quality….”

Likewise, GEO Group’s statement makes light of substance in Biden’s action. “President Biden’s Executive Order is a solution in search of a problem. For more than three decades, our company has provided high-quality services under a private-public partnership with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. During this timeframe, our facilities, which are newer and more modern than the generally older government-run prisons, have helped the BOP meet the significant overcrowding challenges facing the federal prison system.”

“Given the recent decline in federal prison populations, in part due to the COVID pandemic,”

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furthers GEO Group, “the BOP had already announced steps over the last four months to not renew expiring contracts with private sector operators. Given the steps the BOP had already announced, President Biden’s Executive Order merely represents a political statement, which could carry serious negative unintended consequences, including the loss of hundreds of jobs and negative economic impact for the communities where our facilities are located, which are already struggling economically due to the Covid pandemic.

“As a global leader in evidence-based rehabilitation, we will continue our efforts to provide enhanced in-custody rehabilitation programming integrated with reentry and post-release support services with the objective of reducing recidivism and ensuring individuals successfully transition back into local communities,” GEO Group sums up.

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Conclusion Biden’s decision to cancel the DOJ private prison contracts came as part of a package of overhauls aimed at curbing systemic racism. Advocates for racial equity and prison reform pointed out that Biden’s order will not altogether end the use of private prisons in the U.S., nor does it address the broader inequities that plague America’s criminal justice system.

ACLU’s Fathi called it “an important first step.” Politico reported that the Biden administration may move to end future contracts between private prisons and the Department of Homeland Security soon, though the administration has not publicized any plans to do so at this point.

Cautions Fordham’s Professor Pfaff: “It is laudable that Biden began his term by explicitly targeting the racial inequities that permeate our criminal justice system. They are very real, and

there are actions he can take to confront them. Unfortunately, shuttering private prisons at some future date is not just a small step, but one that suggests—incorrectly—that private prisons are somehow uniquely harmful, and thus risks stymieing deeper reforms targeting public prisons.” % To our readers: Please help us bring you the information you want by responding to this quick survey.

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BY M.J. GUERCIO, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The One-Two Punch of RFID and AI

Just how much is radio frequency tracking and artificial intelligence part of the future of corrections?

Correctional facilities across the country are seemingly increasing implementation of RFID and AI to modernize and improve their day-to-day operations. RFID (radio frequency identification) is used to both track offenders and to identify them, while AI (artificial intelligence) is used to support and monitor them.

The National Institute of Justice is backing the research and development of AI and track-

C

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ing solutions in an effort to increase safety and encourage rehabilitation. In a recent article, the NIJ states: “The danger of an offender violating the terms of supervision is not constant.

Rather, it varies across different situations, spiking when risk is greatest.” When AI is used alongside tracking software such as RFID there is potential not only to track a person’s location, but to track when and where risk increases for an individual across a space.

The NIJ anticipates that track-

ing devices incorporating AI will be used to intervene independently of various criminal justice officers to help offenders navigate difficult situations; for example, to encourage a person on parole to leave a risky location or to engage in programming.

Guardian RFID enables a facility to track every interaction, observation, movement and activity—from booking to release.

Its SPARTAN lightweight mobile tactical device, which is about the size of a smart phone, is used in conjunction with strategically

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placed Hard Tags. Hard Tags are specialized, hardened RFID tags that are said to be tamperproof and can be mounted to individual cells, walls, restraint chairs and more. These can be used to automate guard tour, inmate tracking and activity logging.

Hard Tags are scanned with the Spartan device during cell checks; used in tandem they are an efficient alternative to logbooks. “Our officers use Guardian RFID on a daily basis, anything that would go in a daily log they pour in a Spartan device,” says Jailer Jamie Mosley in Laurel County, Kentucky.

Spartan runs Mobile Command, Guardian’s inmate tracking and productivity software, which can execute data collection, identification and intelligence-gathering objectives all while following legal-based standards for its data collection. Data include officer rounds, positive identification headcounts, supplies issues, out-of-cell movements and more. Paul Blaze, director of sales at Guardian RFID, says virtually any observation, incident, or event can be logged.

With Guardian RFID it is easy to maintain and meet jail standards, the company says. Its goal is to support each facility’s mission of care, custody and control.

The products provide a compliance monitor that ensures officers do not exceed state-required check times; in addition, they can track and report on all areas of concern for jail standards audits.

Guardian’s Cell Check technology supports fast and accurate touchscreen logging that captures inmate moods, behaviors, reactions and other observations.

“Knowing that [the firm’s software designers] have correctional backgrounds, you can really see that in the software development and how easy it is to use the Spartan device,” states Lt. Shawn Davis, Laurel County Corrections.

Also important, the Spartan Command and Control Platform

As part of the Black Creek’s TSI PRISM Real Time Locating System (RTLS), inmates wear wrist-mounted, waterproof and tamperproof transmitters. If they step out of bounds into a restricted area, officers will be informed immediately.

works with enterprise software, allowing it to integrate seamlessly with a facility’s jail management, offender management and case management systems.

The Hard Tags help generate accountability and defensibility for staff by validating their presence. They are placed wherever a facility needs to confirm staff proof of presence; they also support a wide range of data collection needs at those key points.

Every cell and security check is associated with a staff member’s unique ID and name for accountability. “Simple accurate observations and tracking of areas of high liability provide the best defense to lawsuits and complaints,” notes Blaze.

Real-time Tracking Another leading location program, Black Creek’s TSI PRISM tracks and locates inmates and staff in real-time. TSI Prism Real Time Locating System (RTLS) provides continuous tracking and positioning; it graphically depicts

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where a person is within a facility at any given moment. Its software duplicates the exact layout of a prison or jail, and antennas are strategically placed throughout a facility for blanket radio frequency (RF) coverage. The system can be used to provide quick incidence response and can provide evidence that increases inmate accountability.

Inmates wear wrist-mounted, waterproof and tamperproof transmitters. Inmate heart rate is included in the signal transmission packet for security purposes.

An alarm notification will trigger if an inmate’s heart rate varies above or below a set limit. Staff wear similar devices mounted on their belts. Each device emits a unique radio frequency every two seconds that is received by antennas and is processed by the central server.

All information is archived in a database that can be accessed for investigative purposes. The transmitter worn by officers provides a duress button. If an officer is attacked, they can engage the button and a duress signal is sent out to the control room dispatcher. If an officer is “down” for longer than a pre-specified time, an alarm is automatically sent to central control.

The TSI Prism identifies the officer and every inmate in the immediate vicinity of an incident, pinpointing their exact location, providing responding officers with all the information they need to respond quickly and appropriately. Additionally, if an inmate steps out of bounds into a restricted area, officers will be informed immediately.

The Black Creek device greatly reduces the chance of assault or escape when worn, partly because inmates know they are being tracked. In one case in California, an inmate was stabbed in his bunk. Within minutes of discovering the wounded inmate, staff identified the attacker and obtained a confession utilizing records archived by the system.

CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 23

Further, after TSI Prism was installed in a Southern California corrections institution, force and violence went down 65 percent, incident exposure incidents decreased 85 percent and escapes and failure to report to jobs were reduced by 100 percent, the company details.

Utilizing a patented algorithm in its tracking and security solution, the Radianse Inc.’s corrections system offers a faster and more accurate alternative to manually collecting data. It provides 24/7 real-time awareness of all inmate, corrections officer, staff and visitor positions.

Able to be viewed from any web-enabled device, the Radianse system integrates inputs from radio frequency, magnetic fields, infrared and vision systems. The technology also makes it possible to track staff rounds and to monitor staff-to-inmate ratios.

Inmates wandering restricted areas can make a facility vulnerable to lawsuits or escape. Should an inmate approach a boundary or enter a restricted area, the system is equipped to notify officers.

Radianse systems can also be used to track inmate participation in classes.

Investigation Tool One of the difficulties of investigations is getting the real story.

24 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

Part of the issue is that cameras don’t capture 100 percent of a facility, plus staff can become overwhelmed if the staff-toinmate ratio is high. With the Radianse system, officers can log inmate locations at a specific time, and place them at the scene of an incident, thus providing the data necessary for finding the truth.

In one example, the staff at Lawrence Correctional Alternative Center (LCAC) responded to an incident that included a diversionary fire alarm pull that coincided with an assault in a separate building. In its investigation the Sheriffs Department implemented Radianse Corrections Solutions to uncover which inmates were involved. Staff used one of the

who pulled the fire alarm.

Tracking doesn’t just happen within the confines of the jail or prison. CorrectTech’s community corrections software helps monitor returning citizens. This software can be used in residential, treatment, reentry, work release, probation and parole facilities.

It has customizable modules that streamline operations.

CorrectTech’s modules include documentation, assessment, case planning, clinical treatment, interventions, positive reinforcement and staff insights modules.

Its software makes it easy to provide care for individuals by facilitating access to important

metric’s reporting functions and determined which tagged inmates were in the vicinity at the time.

With the help of the technology they were able to identify the three inmates who participated in the assault as well as the person

information like client risks, needs, responsivity and dosage.

“For the first time in ten years, we are beginning to focus on the quality of documentation rather than just the presence of it.

CorrectTech is doing for us exact-

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With the TSI PRISM system, officers and staff wear beltmounted Personal Safety Device transmitting units that send a unique radio signal every two seconds. When the red emergency button is depressed, an alarm is sent to central control.

ly what we’d hoped,” says Mike G., administrator in a community corrections facility.

A facility’s case notes and client progress data are automatically and actively analyzed by the software to provide client insights. The AI analysis provides powerful client insights that enable facilities to improve results and measure progress.

The CorrectTech analysis combines deep machine learning, predicative analytics, and an array of modern data management tools to create client insight models that help improve client supervision. Client insight models are built upon a facility’s client supervision data and is informed by agency-cohort models to help outline a facility’s plan of action for best practices.

The client insights system organizes a facility’s data into

standardized AI models, and uses natural language (any language that has evolved naturally in humans) processing to structure data in a meaningful way. IBM Watson, a question-answering computer developed by IBM’s DeepQA project, is employed in the process. CorrectTech’s software provides management, staff and clients with targeted personalized insights that help in the decision-making process involving intervention, guidance and reinforcement of client behavior.

With regards to intervention, CorrectTech employs a combination of AI models, agency historical data sources and real-time connection to agency case management systems, as well as tra-

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Thank you for your input! ditional data analysis to identify opportunities to provide informed interventions. Staff can also monitor a client’s progress across a combination of static and dynamic factors in real-time.

No doubt, Artificial Intelligence and tracking systems continue to improve safety and increase positive outcomes in a corrections setting. While only the future will tell just how much they will be used to enhance custodial care, they have been making inroads for years.

In 2001, Larry Cothran of the National Law Enforcement and C o r r e c t i o n s Technology Center predicted the use of tracking technology in corrections, and his statement holds true today: “This kind of technology will change the way prisons are run because it takes the manpower that is necessary to run a prison and makes it electronic. It converts the information of a thousand eyes. It takes away all the guesswork from investigations. Will this change almost every facet of prison life? I think so.” % CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 25

BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Stopping the Spread +/+.% )-++/,)&/&-,(#/."$,%(+/- -' /$'.+*)/,)& ,.! /,)&/$'-- .+(.) /%*)&.(.*)+/,)&/,&&.%(.*)/ $!,%-/ +(.%- .) *! -&/$-*$!-/,(/#. #-'/'.+ / #,(/,'-/+*"-/* /(#-/ , +/",), -'+/,'-/ . #(.) / ,%

s we reach the oneyear milestone since the Covid-19 monster reared its ugly head, prisons and jails have struggled more than most to battle the virulent virus which has killed an alarming number of incarcerated individuals, staff and, possibly by extension, community members. It has impacted us all, but correctional facilities— with impossible conditions, such as congregate living, poor ventilation, lack of ability to social distance, and difficulty in providing proper sanitation and nutrition, have been hit hard.

At least 383,754 prisoners have tested positive as of February 23, and more than 104,278 prison staff members have reported being positive; moreover at least

28 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

2,446 prisoners have died of coronavirus-related causes and at least 189 deaths from coronavirus have been reported among prison staff, according to The Marshall Project. The nonprofit news organization, in partnership with the Associated Press, has been tracking the numbers nationwide of those becoming ill and dying from Covid-19 in federal and state prisons.

Little is actually known about correctional officers, nurses, chaplains, wardens and other workers within facilities who are at risk of getting sick and have the potential to transmit the disease into communities because many aren’t systematically being tested, the report furthers. “In the most recent week [March 5], 12 states—Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan,

Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia— released information on the number of their staff members tested for the coronavirus,” states the Marshall Project. “Where we do know about positive cases, most state corrections departments stress that the count includes only the employees who voluntarily report a diagnosis, often in the course of calling out sick.”

In December, as Covid-19 cases spiked across the U.S., the Associated Press also shared cumulative rates of infection among prison populations, to better gauge the total effects of the pandemic on prison populations. The analysis found that by mid-December, one in five state and federal prisoners in the

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United States had tested positive for the coronavirus—a rate more than four times higher than the general population. More disturbing statistics show that in some states two of three prisoners had tested positive.

This data, which is updated weekly, is an effort to track how those people have been affected and where the crisis has hit the hardest. (Raw data is made available overall as well as the ability to query rates for each state (see https://data.world/associatedpress/marshall-project-covid-cases-in-prisons).

*"*' .&.(.-+/ / &&.%(.*) Prisons and jails and other custodial settings undeniably are a breeding ground for the spread of the virus due to the close proximity of residents under poor ventilation conditions, exacerbating person to person transmission through droplet and aerosol transmission, according to an article “Prevention and Control of Covid-19 in Nursing Homes, Orphanages, and Prisons” published by the UK publication Environmental Pollution. In addition, inmates generally have a higher number of comorbid conditions and on the whole are in worse health conditions than the general population.

It is widely known that those with comorbidities are at an increased risk for severe illness from Covid19. Older adults, people with lung disease, people with hypertension or heart disease, severe obesity, chronic kidney disease, and liver disease may be more likely to develop severe Covid-19 (Jordan et al., 2020, Richardson et al., 2020, Sanchez-Ramirez and Mackey, 2020, Sentongo et al., 2020). In addition, people who use drugs have a high prevalence of many of these comorbidities, which may place them at increased risk of complications following COVID-19 infection.

In fact, say Trena I. Mukherjeea and Nabila ElBassel in the article “The Perfect Storm: Covid-19, Mass Incarceration and The Opioid Epidemic (see sidebar page 30) in The International Journal on Drug Policy published online in June 2020: “People with opioid use disorders (OUDs) are disproportionately incarcerated and suffer from a number of preexisting conditions, creating a ‘perfect storm’ for a Covid-19 outbreak.” The authors further point out that according to a 2010 DOJ report “Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population,” “It is estimated 65% of the U.S. prison population has a substance use disorder.”

er mask wearing, social distancing and vaccination,” says Heather Norman, chief nursing officer with Wellpath. To that end, the health care provider is taking care to educate its teammates and patients on the importance of those measures. They are hosting biweekly Internal Huddles in order to provide up-todate information and answer questions from the field. They have also created a 24/7 toll-free hotline and email account through which its teammates can reach out with any questions or concerns.

As for the availability of PPE, early in the pandemic, notes Norman, “our procurement team operationalized a supply warehouse where we are able to maintain storage of PPE, which has allowed us to maintain adequate supply levels to keep our teams outfitted with appropriate levels of gowns, gloves, masks and hand sanitizer.”

Prisons and jails can also leverage technological advancements such as UV sanitizing robots, that can deliver a measured dose of UV energy that destroys microorganisms in a matter of hours.

Use of video communications, similar to that in the outside world, has seen a dramatic uptick in prisons. It is an ideal time for prisons and jails to employ video visitation and video arraignments.

Telehealth is another benefit of video, which both reduces the risk of infecting those in the community after a visit to a hospital or clinic and that of infection entering the facility on return. “At

**&/ ',%(.%-+ We turned to experts facilitating health care at prisons and jails to make recommendations on how to best manage spread of the virus to staff and inmates alike. These are the best practices they suggested.

“At this point in the pandemic, I believe that the key to stopping the spread is a combination of propVISIT US AT WWW.CORRECTIONSFORUM.NET

CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 29

Wellpath, we were already conducting over 100K telehealth interactions a year before the pandemic,” notes Norman, “and since then, we've almost doubled our utilization.”

In addition, continues Wellpath’s CNO, “We also creat-

ed a telenursing program in order to provide additional intake screening for sites that required assistance with Covid Screening in order to ensure that we properly assessed all incoming patients and understood their risk level.”

Another way Wellpath lever-

#-/ -' -%(/ (*'" / ,++/ )%,'%-',(.*)/,)&/(# $.*.&/ $.&-".% Over a quarter of criminal justice involved populations in the U.S. are charged with a drug offense, and it is estimated that 65% of the U.S. prison population has a substance use disorder. Globally, it is estimated that one in six are serving time for drug possession, and between 10% and 60% have a substance use disorder.

Populations most vulnerable to Covid-19 include older adults and persons of any age with serious underlying medical conditions such as lung disease, heart disease, and diabetes. Among people who use drugs, Covid-19 infection may worsen the respiratory impact of opioid use and withdrawal, as opioids act in the brainstem to slow breathing, leading to respiratory depression and potential overdose.

Those with substance use disorders also experience greater comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, or are immunocompromised due to HIV. Similarly, detained populations have higher prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases, and poorer health than the general population, even at younger ages. Many are also immunocompromised, and the prevalence of HIV is nearly five times higher within criminal justice settings, compared to the general community. Furthermore, correctional facilities concentrate, amplify, and then transmit infectious diseases to the community after release, and will continue to do so for Covid-19.

It is estimated that American jails have a 54% turnover with approximately 200,000 inmates cycling in and out every week, in addition to the correctional staff, medical staff, visitors, lawyers and volunteers. This provides ample opportunity for the virus to both enter and exit criminal justice systems.

People with opioid and other substance use disorders are disproportionately incarcerated, and recently released prisoners are 10 times more likely to be homeless. Without adequate planning, decarceration efforts in response to Covid-19 may move people with OUDs (opioid use disorders) from one risk environment to another. Upon 30 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

ages technology is a dashboard solution that tracks Covid totals in the community as a proactive way to implement safety measures. The dashboard “provides us the ability to view community Covid levels in real time, allowing us to make recommendations

release, the risks associated with coronavirus, as well as HIV, viral hepatitis, TB, overdose and homelessness that often accompany incarceration must be considered. This includes re-entry services that comprise of overdose prevention, continuity of care, linkage to community-based substance use treatment, and safe housing.

The risk of opioid overdose death is 40 times higher in the two weeks immediately following release. This is attributable to forced drug abstinence during incarceration, which reduces drug tolerance upon release, and a change in the potency of opioids that is primarily driven by the availability of fentanyl.

$$*'( ).( / *'/ - *'" The current pandemic presents an opportunity to accelerate criminal justice reform that is already under way. Urgent national response is needed as correctional staff and incarcerated populations are disproportionately infected with Covid-19, and because justice-involved populations face additional disparities that make them more vulnerable.

First, jails and prisons must rapidly decarcerate by releasing medically vulnerable populations, expand bail and drug policy reform to release lowlevel offenders, those held in pre-trial detention and those with limited time remaining; and discontinue the use of out-of-pocket co-payments for medical care, while increasing the provision of quality health care within correctional facilities.

Second, we must reduce new admissions by limiting the number of arrests for non-violent crimes, drug-related offenses and technical violations.

Finally, accelerating the parole review process and reducing the number of in-person visits for those in community supervision reduces face-to-face contact, transportation issues, and disruptions to employment that often result in technical violations. Furthermore, many of these policy changes may have long-term implications beyond Covid19 prevention and control, including a reduction in social, economic and health disparities that are often the result of incarceration.

Source: Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection, “The Perfect Storm: Covid-19, Mass Incarceration and the Opioid Epidemic” by Trena I. Mukherjeea and Nabila El-Bassel.

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to our partners on the benefits of modifying visitation to the facility in an effort to minimize exposure risks to our patient population,” explains Norman.

“The complexity of treating and managing Covid-19 in a jail setting cannot be understated, especially when the entire medical community at large is learning and developing treatment protocols during the pandemic in real time. You saw the challenges in hospitals and nursing homes across the nation,” she points out.

She notes that Wellpath’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has continuously followed the latest DPH and CDC public health guidance, including numerous changes to training, policy, and practice. This includes taking aggressive actions to prevent the coronavirus from entering in the first place, including frequent reminders to our staff and all personnel coming into our facilities to sanitize common areas multiple times during the day, practice proper hand hygiene, and stay home if they are not feeling well. Strict adherence to the CDC recommendation is impossible inside any correctional facility, not just ours.”

Our partner agencies are working continuously to contain the spread of the virus, in part by developing and expanding protocols to ensure the safety of their To our readers: Please help us bring you the information you want by responding to this quick survey.

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Local jails in the United States experienced a large decline (down 185,400 inmates) in their inmate populations from June 30, 2019 to June 30, 2020, which can be attributed mainly to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced on March 10.

Jail facilities became less crowded during the pandemic with fewer inmates due to declining admissions and to the expedited release of 208,500 inmates from jails between March and June 2020. About 60% of beds in local jails were occupied at midyear 2020, a decrease from 81% at midyear 2019.

Jails nationwide administered 215,360 Covid-19 tests to inmates from March to June 2020, which was the equivalent of testing 9% of the 2.4 million persons admitted to jails during that time. More than 11% of these tests were positive. Jails in counties with the highest infection rates (1% or more residents were infected with Covid-19) tested nearly 21% of persons admitted to their jails. About 14% of these tests were positive.

As for jail staff, nearly 5% (10,850 of 233,220 employees) tested positive for Covid-19 during the 4-month period. About 8% of jail staff working in counties with the highest infection rates tested positive for Covid-19, compared to 1% of jail staff testing positive in counties with the lowest infection rates.

Among the jails that reported on Covid-19-related inmate and staff deaths (89% of sampled jails), a total of 43 inmates in 22 jails died of Covid-19 from March to June 2020.

A total of 40 jail staff in 30 jails also died of Covid-19 during this time.

—The Bureau of Justice Statistics, Impact of Covid-19 on Local Jail Population, Jan-June 2020. resident populations, she says.

“Most have implemented a 14day quarantine for all new admission inside their facility. They are testing all incoming transfers from outside facilities. They are testing all symptomatic residents and isolating them from the general population. Some also test and quarantine asymptomatic residents that may have had recent exposure to a positive resident.

We have developed signs that are placed outside of housing units that outline what should happen in each housing unit. Everyone’s main focus is suppressing the opportunity for it to spread, and proving continuity of medical care for resident population.”

The good news is the vaccine has started to be implemented to the prison population. To

smooth the process, Wellpath initiated a communications campaign called “Don’t Hesitate, Vaccinate.” The firm hosts weekly Wellpath Clinical Huddles zoom meetings where clinical and operational leadership, the one source of trust, discuss the latest updates coming from the CDC, vaccine distribution updates, and any other timely messages their site leaders need to do their jobs. They have also developed educational materials to demystify the virus and the vaccine for staff, patients and client agencies, she says.

While jails and prisons have been among those to bear the brunt of Covid-19 infections, following basic sanitation, technological aids, and testing and quarantining are valuable in the battle. Vaccination is providing the light at the end of the tunnel. %

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BY G.F. GUERCIO, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Rolling Out Customization That Fits Like a Glove

Special options and equipment best fulfill fleet and microtransit requirements.

ABC Companies’ Van Hool coach is its flagship, here outfitted as the CX45E battery electric coach before offender customization.

Unique transportation customization not only rolls into correctional agencies on wheels, it also rolls in by way of the workforce.

In Perryville, Ariz., the work gloves are worn by female inmates who are part of the Fleet 100 program launched in 2018.

Begun as an initiative to reduce recidivism, the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) program trains in the various positions held in an auto repair shop. A software program by RTA Fleet Management records the jobs so that each exits with a 34 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

resume to maximize job potential.

With vehicles, maximizing the use, safety and function of those deployed for inmate transportation is the goal of Matthews Specialty Vehicles, Inc. As a custom specialty vehicle manufacturer, James Farrell, marketing coordinator explains, “We hone in on maximizing passenger occupancy and operator safety according to how the department intends to functionally operate the vehicle.” He details some examples of application differences: Are inmates shackled or unshackled? Handcuffed alone or with another inmate? What is the

loading and unloading protocol?

Are males and females separate or in the same vehicle? “These are just a few examples of the many different applications we have to study and understand prior to the design process,” he notes.

One of the latest innovations, tech laser-cut partition panels, allow for a fully engineered caging system, Farrell says. “Instead of having individual pieces of metal form into our desired shape for the vehicle, we have a technology that allows us to laser cut the metal into the exact shape and design we want for the cage using only one piece of metal. This

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allows for the vehicle's cage to have greater durability.”

While a multitude of special features can be included in a custom vehicle, Farrell zeroes in on

president of Marketing. Under the SVT banner, the specialty vehicles range from van and cutaway offerings up to full-sized motorcoaches “with the option

The Bus Center delivers a 42-passenger PTV to a sheriff’s office.

the usefulness of camera systems that can include WiFi and GPS and the advantage of the event marker button. He says it will pinpoint the exact time of a fight or disturbance. “Later, when you are going through the tapes from the vehicle cameras you will not have to look through hours of footage, rather you can go right to the moment the fight started since the button was clicked.”

For ADA needs, Matthews offers rear- and side-mounted wheelchair lifts and, for larger vehicles, guard areas can contain conveniences like bunk beds, bathroom, microwave, fridge, even a TV. Each customization starts with concept and design, following through to production and delivery.

Another option from a new Specialty Vehicles and Technologies (SVT) division within ABC Companies, a motorcoach to microtransit provider, includes customer-specific designs for inmate transport now with options of zero-emissions power, according to Thom Peebles, vice 36 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

of battery electric zero emissions power from the expanding portfolio of EV (electric vehicle) offerings as well as other future-facing capabilities.”

The company’s new EV zeroemissions lineup is built on partnerships that support a range of sustainable OEM and repowered EV options. ABC’s distribution agreement with Green Power Motor Company focuses on microtransit solutions. Through work with Lightning eMotors, turnkey diesel to EV repower kits are available, “enabling updates to existing vehicles to battery electric power that can significantly lower operational costs,” says Peebles. And the flagship Van Hool coach, in this case engineered as the CX45E zeroemissions OEM model, integrates the Proterra-sourced industry leading, energy-dense E2 battery system.

Each Van Hool CX Offender coach is built to spec and offers a host of standard and optional features. With seating capacity up to 56 passengers, the vehicle’s cus-

tomizable caging separates inmates and guards, and options include secure weapons locker, a guard intercom system and P.A. microphone system, wall-mounted power outlets, customized interior lighting, Rhino flooring, a tamperresistant onboard restroom and optional ADA wheelchair lift and entrance ramp. “All Van Hool coaches feature a 13-point standard safety package—one of the highest in its class—including rollover specifications designed to a more-rigorous European standard,” details Peebles.

Because thorough fleet cleaning is no longer simply an option today, Peebles adds, “ABC has available a full suite of sanitization solutions designed to boost passenger confidence for group transportation.” From electrostatic fogging and active HVAC purification via bipolar ionization, to UV lighting, advanced filtration and more, ABC’s CLEANS technology uses a layered approach built around thorough surface cleaning, passenger protocols and active air filtration and decontamination, he says—safety

The ASP, Inc. Transport Plus System with belt option provides a locking block which auto engages without a key.

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Matthews Specialty Vehicles, Inc. customizes a single-occupant ADA paratransit side lift on the Ford transit vehicle.

multipled.

Situated in multiple sites, The Bus Center’s three full-service dealerships make it easy to deliver vehicles anywhere across the country, says Chris Clark, prisoner transport specialist. The Bus Center family of companies’ specialty division concentrates on prison transport vehicles (PTVs).

The PTV division works with agencies to customize vehicles for as little as four and up to 42 inmates plus guards, Clark says, and even includes waterless lavatories if needed. “We offer a mix of minimum- to maximum-security floor plans on our buses and depending on the level of security required, we offer multiple options on steel caging, Lexan dividers, and individual isolation cells,” he says, each individual bus or van 100% custom to fit customers’ needs.

But customization isn’t just for vehicles. Restraints can also fit that category and ASP, Inc. devises customizable restraints to best fit agencies’ varied requirements.

38 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

Introducing its first restraint a couple of years ago, Michael Hess, vice president, Marketing, now says the product has expanded into a full system of interchangeable components. “In addition to the modular, customizable nature of the system, we’ve introduced a unique, and truly important nokey-present concept that allows all of the elements of the system to be engaged, connected, locked and even double-locked, without the multiple risks of having a key present at any point in the restraining process. This is a huge officer and inmate/transportee safety benefit.”

The system is a completely interchangeable/modular solution that permits the agency, facility or officer to set up the exact solution needed for a given application. Hess explains that the Rigid Cuff hub allows components like waist chain and leg restraints to be added, removed or adjusted without removing or adjusting the primary wrist restraints. Also, the system’s connecting ele-

ments—chain or belt—attach to the restraint elements by way of a locking block that auto-engages without a key. The key is only for system removal upon arrival.

So whether the application is a long transport, courtroom, aircraft transport, or high/low level of security, the system’s design reduces subject discomfort and injury risk, particularly during long-seated periods in vehicles, aircraft, or courtrooms, he adds. It also allows for writing and signing documents and using the restroom without removing the system.

And Hess says the ability to switch between chain and belt elements makes the system ideal for aircraft, where equipment weight is always a consideration, as well as in courtrooms or other environments where the noise or optics of chains may be undesirable. His evaluation: “The unique and exclusive advantages of the ASP Transport System are its modularity, security, comfort and adaptability.”

Continues on page 49

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DIRECTORY Companies by Category Apparel Damascus Protective Gear Keefe Group Laundry Loops

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DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

Armament Systems and Procedures (ASP) 2511 East Capitol Drive Appleton, WI 54911 tel: 800-236-6243 contact: Daryell Harmon, VP of Sales email: daryell.harmon@asp-usa.com website: www.asp-usa.com ...ASP supplies best-in-class equipment and training—focusing on expandable batons, restraint systems and tactical flashlights—to law enforcement and corrections agencies in over 100 countries.

Its award-winning, modular Transport System is a faster, more versatile and safer solution that has revolutionized the way prisoner transport is conducted.

10A Bloomfield Avenue Pine Brook, NJ 07058 tel: 973-276-6000 contact: Sales email: info@autoclear.com website: www.autoclear.com ...Autoclear LLC specializes in the design, manufacture, and support of high quality, professional security X-ray scanners and metal detection systems, as well as advanced detection of trace particulate and vapor explosives and narcotics.

The Basic Advantage,Inc. 575 Prospect St. #241 Lakewood, NJ 08701 tel: 800-964-9973 contact: Harris Mermelstein email: info@basicltd.com website: www.basicltd.com ...Basic Ltd. is a manufacturer of property evidence bags and prisoner belonging storage bags. We have over 70 years of customer satisfaction to our credit. Our bags are being used by correctional facilities nationwide.

Samples are available upon request.

Baxter Manufacturing 19220 SR 162 East Orting, WA 98360 tel: 253-380-2269 contact: Ming Tan email: ming.tan@baxtermfg.com website: www.baxtermfg.com Baxter Rotating Rack Oven Easy to operate. Simple to maintain.

Optimal Results.

...Baxter rotating rack ovens are available with correctional security package. Our ovens are engineered for security,durability, and high-volume production: a single versatile platform for baking and cooking in the most demanding correctional facilities’ kitchens.

Black Creek Integrated Systems PO Box 101747 Irondale, AL 35210 tel: 205-949-9900 email: sales@blackcreekisc.com website: www.blackcreekisc.com From our enterprise-class Jail Management System and new Public Safety Suite to our Real-Time Inmate Tracking Solution, Black Creek is your premier source for modern integrated Touchscreen facility controls and security management software solutions. Black Creek focuses solely on Corrections and Public Safety to make jail and inmate management easy.

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CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 41

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

Correctional Peace Officers Foundation 443 Warehouse Drive Latrobe, PA 15650 tel: 800-234-2734, 724-537-9000 contact: Justin Head email: jhead@crfoam.com website: www.crfoam.com ...Durable SAFGUARD® fire-resistant mattresses and pillows.

Mattress longevity provides lowest cost per inmate. Built-in pillow mattresses also available. Optional ClearView® covering materials for locating and identifying contraband. SAFGUARD® avoids fire hazards associated with polyester fiber mattress alternatives.

Excellent results for stringent mattress fire tests within ASTM F-1870 and F1085 Annex A.

ng!

uci Introd

The G.L.O.V.E.

GENERATED LOW OUTPUT VOLTAGE EMITTER

• Quickly transforms into a highly effective CEW in one second • Humane – a fraction of the current of other mainline CEW’s • Affordable with no additional operating costs • At the User’s disposal throughout the Force Continuum • Great for weapons retention and seamless for weapons transition • Non-lethal de-escalation tool with very low optics

1346 N. Market Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95834 tel: 916-928-0061 800-800-CPOF contact: Charleene Corby, CAO email: mail@cpof.org website: www.cpof.org ...The Correctional Peace Officers (CPO) Foundation is a national, nonprofit charity for surviving families of Corrections personnel killed in the line of duty. The CPO Foundation also operates an extensive Catastrophic Assistance Program for Corrections personnel in times of emergency, crisis or other great need.

Announcing the CPO Foundation’s 32nd Annual National Memorial Ceremony Friday June 25, 2021, Columbus, OH

859.447.0576 100 % Veteran Owned www.complianttechnologies.net

WARDENS

194 Seward Rd. Rutland, VT 05701 tel: 800-451-4167 contact: Customer Service email:

delivers free gift packages & Bibles for your inmates!

We deliver gift packages to prisons all over the country. This year, we have already delivered thousands to prisons in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee, and have plans to visit many prisons in other states. We would be happy to visit your facility!

Please call us for details today!

Visit us at: www.christmasbehindbars.org :H DUH D QRQ SURÀW PLQLVWU\ WKDW KDV EHHQ VHUYLQJ JLIW SDFNDJHV WR LQPDWHV IRU RYHU \HDUV

Christmas Behind Bars Lemuel Vega

Ph: 260-827-8835 Contact@ChristmasBehindBars.org

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311 NNW Loop 323 Tyler, TX 75702 tel: 800-477-5219 contact: Dianne Huffstickler, General Manager email:

Dianne.Huffstickler@suddenlink.com website: www.correctionalcabletv.com ...CCT is the largest satellite provider in the correction industry serving over 150 sites across 21 states. You select the programming and leave the rest to us.

No up-front cost for equipment and installation--just one low monthly rate for programming and service.

customerservice@damascusgear.com website: www.damascusgear.com ...Damascus® has been making premium quality hand gear for the men and women of the US Armed Services and other facets of law enforcement worldwide, since 1955. Damascus® provides the highest level of personal protection including full body riot control gear, gloves, protective knee and elbow pads and more.

Attention to design, function and the smallest of details, along with the use of only the finest quality leathers and materials have delivered consistent and trusted protection to our customers.

Our line continues to swiftly evolve as new technologies become available and are subsequently incorporated into our products.

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Medi-Dose

EPS

Unit Do s Bar Co e, di Pharm ng, acy & Nursin g Sup Expert ply s!

THE VERDICT IS IN Still #1 for tamper-evident unit dose in correctional care pharmacies

Medi-Dose

®

TampAlerT

®

Simple. Safe. Secure. Since 1971, the Medi-Dose and TampAlerT unit dose packaging systems have continued to meet the specific needs of correctional care pharmacies. ®

Medi-Dose ® is the economical answer for packaging and dispensing your solid oral medication. Available in 13 styles, with 6 or 12-month beyond-use dating options, it’s moisture and light resistant. No in-service training is required and it’s barcode ready.

Medi-Dose® uses no metal, glass or machinery…so it’s safe to use for both your staff and patient population.

800.523.8966

®

TampAlerT ® is the ideal tamper-evident solution for liquids or powders. It’s stocked from 15 to 120 mL, in natural or UV inhibitant polyethylene, with regular or child-resistant screw caps. The TampAlerT ® seal goes on automatically when you twist on the container cap.

Call or visit our website for samples and more information.

MediDose.com

® ®

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

Drug Impairment Detection Services LLC DBA Streetime Technologies tel: 520-727-1798 contact: Chris Crucilla, CEO email: ccrucilla@streetimetechnologies.com website: www.streetimetechnologies.com ...PassPoint is a known standard in Ocular Drug Scanning. The PassPoint dot net system limits exposure to bodily fluids.

PassPoint not only decreases the amount of money agencies spend on monitoring for substance abuse, it also increases client accountability by being able to test more often. The PassPoint system has a built in passive breathalyzer for increased alcohol detection. Streetime also offers its state of the art call- in testing program called Call Point Plus. This program comes with PassPoint or can be purchased as a stand alone test notification system. Call point allows for multiple schedules, built in holidays, and much more. With Call Point, agencies pay one price for their entire population.

Please contact us about our home testing unit.

1-877-727-7764 extension 1

3120 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 300 Rankin, PA 15104 tel: 844-269-1981 email: salesinfo@gtl.net website: www.gtl.net ...GTL works to transform correctional facilities into rehabilitative environments by providing technology that meets facility needs, keeps communities safe, improves the wellness of incarcerated individuals, and fuels successful reentry for returning citizens. Leading the correctional technology field, GTL provides communication, rehabilitation, investigative, intelligence, finance, and reentry solutions.

Guardian RFID 6900 Wedgwood Rd. N #325 Maple Grove, MN 55311 tel: 855-777-7343 contact: Paul Blaze, MPA, CIM, CCT, NILCA email: info@guardianrfid.com website: www.guardianrfid.com

DoorKing, Inc. 120 S. Glasgow Avenue Inglewood, CA 90301 tel: 800-826-7493 310-645-0023 contact: Allen Wright email: awright@doorking.com website: www.doorking.com Maximum Security Vehicular Gate Operators

...DoorKing’s maximum security vehicular slide gate operators feature anti-tailgating, adjustable mid-stop, adjustable speed control and emergency close on certain models.

These operators are for vehicular gates up to 100 feet in length and weighing up to 10,000 lbs.

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11 Talbot Avenue Rankin, PA 15104 tel: 877-696-3742, 412-351-3913 contact: Richard Fuller, Marketing Manager email: info@epicmetals.com website: www.epicmetals.com ...EPIC Metals’ Security Ceilings EPIC Security Ceiling Systems provide a combination of structural floor/ceiling or roof/ceiling, providing designers and architects reduced noise levels and security in one system. These panels can accommodate a variety of utility systems, such as sprinklers, electricity, or monitoring devices. Contact EPIC to discover all the advantages of a security ceiling.

...From inmate tracking and cell checks to Cloud-based business and artificial intelligence, our technology solutions digitally transform jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities of every size.

For over 15 years, we have exclusively served corrections professionals, allying in their mission to comply with state standards and make facilities more efficient.

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DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

Global Offices tel: 309-369-2747 contact: Gerry Guerrero, AIA, NCARB, DBIA, Global Director, Justice email: gerry.guerrero@hdrinc.com

10880 Lin Page Place St Louis, MO 63132 tel: 800-325-8998 contact: Missy Walker, Director of Marketing email: customerfirst@keefegroup.com website: www.keefegroup.com ...Keefe Group, through its affiliates, Keefe Supply Company, Keefe Commissary Network, Access Securepak, Access Corrections, ICSolutions and Advanced Technologies Group, is the nation’s leading supplier of food products, personal care products, electronics, clothing, technology, telecommunications and software solutions to the correctional market.

website:

www.hdrinc.com/markets/justice

...In our 50-plus years as a recognized justice leader, we have innovated programs and led the important conversations, developing best practices to access our justice system and expedite its efficient delivery, reduce the rate of recidivism and design for restorative justice. We not only design buildings, we understand the operational and functional drivers that mold these facilities—corrections and detention facilities, juvenile justice facilities, medical and behavioral healthcare, law enforcement and courts.

Institutional Eye Care, LLC 27499 Riverview Center Blvd, Ste 429 Bonita Springs, FL, 34136 tel: 866-604-2931 contact: Jeffrey R. Lose, OD email: info@institutionaleyecare.com website: www.institutionaleyecare.com On-Site Optometry – Fully equipped On-Site Glaucoma Management/ Telemedicine – Eliminate Off Site Trips for medical management of routine glaucoma $14.95 Rx Eyeglasses Largest on-site correctional vision service provider in the country, over 1,000 facilities in 44 states; Federal in all 50 states & US Territories and international since 2000.

Corrections Experience Since 1983.

P.O Box 8128 Janesville, WI 53547 tel: 888-933-2248, 618-314-8710 contact: Allen Stowers, President email: sales@jgius.com website: www.jgius.com

...JG Innovations’ Soffi-Steel® and Interlock™ Concealment Systems are virtually indestructible, tamper and contraband resistant concealment systems that are designed to enclose pipe and mechanicals for security and anti-ligature purposes. They are made in the USA, produced from A60/G90 galvannealed steel and carry industry approvals and certifications in the US and Canada.

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CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 45

DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

Inmate Law Library Solutions

MEET YO UR STATE REQUIREMENTS W I T H YO U R C H O I C E O F F O R M AT:

Online Custom Interface Offline External Hard Drive

Contact us for a no-obligation library analysis and cost comparison:

lexisnexis.com/corrections 800.628.3612

PO Box 400 Kenner, LA 70063 tel: 504-467-9591 contact: Marketing Department email: milnorinfo@milnor.com website: www.milnor.com ...For over 70 years, Pellerin Milnor has been the leader in industrial laundry equipment quality and innovation. Our washer-extractors range in size from 25 - 700 lb and dryers from 30 - 750 lb.

Correctional facility models are available with tamper-resistant fasteners and Lexan(r) covers for enhanced security and safety. Controls range from very simple to quite sophisticated, depending upon your needs. Contact us today for a complimentary laundry planning file.

1200 W. 2nd Street Oconomowoc, WI 53066 tel: 800-966-0103 contact: Marketing Department email: hottray@plastoconinc.com website: www.plastoconinc.com

...With over 50 years of experience Plastocon is the premier provider of Meal Delivery Systems to the Correctional industry. Insulated Meal Trays, Delivery Carts, Racks, Small-Wares and more. View our full product offering at: Plastoconinc.com

LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of RELX Inc. © 2021 LexisNexis. OFF04821-0 0321

Medi-Dose, Inc./EPS, Inc. 70 Industrial Dr. The Milton Building Ivyland, PA 18974 tel: 800-523-8966 contact: Robert Braverman, Director of Marketing email: info@medi-dose.com website: www.medi-dose.com ...Medi-Dose is a tamper-evident, solid oral unit dose packaging system that is ideal for correctional health facilities.

Medi-Dose features 13 types of blisters, including new Mini Medi-Cup Blisters for small medications and Deep & Jumbo blisters for larger or multiple meds. Medi-Dose features 1-year beyond use dating and tamper-evidence protection.

Our MILT software complements the Medi-Dose system and provides a variety of innovative features for all medication labeling needs…solids, liquids, IV’s, syringes, ampules, even equipment.

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New Flyer of America 200 East Oakton Street Des Plaines, Illinois 60018 tel: 866 MCI COACH, 720-219-4012 contact: Lee Kemp email: Lee.Kemp@mcicoach.com website: www.newflyer.com

...The MCI Inmate Security Transport Vehicles (ISTV) are custom-fitted according to agency specifications, with features that include seating for up to 69 inmates, containment barriers and cells, window bars, ½” shatter-resistant windows, a rear officer position, on board surveillance system, and bullet resistant materials. The ISTV model has a proven long-life and low operating-cost track record, adding significant operational savings over the life of the vehicle.

Learn more at mcicoach.com

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DIRECTORY DIRECTORY

SAFE. RELIABLE. SECURE. 3330 Fiechtner Dr. SW Ste 200 Fargo, ND 58103 tel: 800-874-8801 Ext. 131 contact:Lt. Steve Lynk (Ret.) Senior Account Executive email: slynk@scheduleanywhere.com website: www.scheduleanywhere.com ...ScheduleAnywhere allows correctional facilities to manage employee schedules online. Officers have 24/7 access to real-time schedules and can submit schedule requests using the mobile app. Administrators can manage schedules and review staffing needs anytime, anywhere.

ScheduleAnywhere ensures proper shift coverage, tracks certifications and training, and streamlines communication.

13800 Coppermine Rd. Fl 2 Herndon, VA 20171 tel: 1-800-390-5796 email: info@senstar.com website: www.senstar.com ...With innovative perimeter intrusion detection sensors, personal duress systems, intelligent video management software, video analytics, and access control, Senstar offers a suite of proven, integrated solutions to address a variety of security concerns. Senstar has over 40 years experience working with correctional institutions providing products tailored for their challenging environments.

THE TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS YOU NEED BACKED BY A TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS YOU CAN COUNT ON.

...Spidercuff is dedicated to providing innovative, superior restraints that improve safety for all involved. Faster and safer to deploy while requiring less force. Contact us to learn more about the 21st century handcuff.

• Work with our Prison Transport

Design Specialists to create your custom floor plan • Custom units built to transport 4–42 prisoners • Minimum to maximum security options available

CALL CHRIS CLARK TODAY FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION AND FLOOR PLAN.

STV 225 Park Ave. S. New York, NY 10003 tel: 212-777-4400 contact: David Miles Ziskind, FAIA website: www.stvinc.com ...STV provides broad-based services to the corrections industry that address all aspects of architectural design, including master planning, programming and interior design. The firm provides architectural, engineering, planning and design services nationwide and overseas. A 100-year-old firm, STV is 100 percent employee owned.

2016 Gees Mill Road, Suite 200 Conyers, GA 30013 tel: 888-994-7636 contact: Customer Service email: cs@unifiedbrands.net website: www.unifiedbrands.com ...At Unified Brands we solve the most difficult food-preparation challenges by delivering unique and reliable food service solutions with an extensive portfolio of high-quality, durable products. From cooking equipment to ventilation, and most anything in between – we would love to partner with you on your next foodservice project.

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205.663.2287 thebuscenter.com

501 Holiday Drive, Suite 300 Pittsburgh, PA 15220 tel: 888-MED-MGMT 888-633-6468, Opt 1 contact: Wendelyn R. Pekich, MBA, CCHP, VP of Marketing & Communications email: info@wexfordhealth.com website: www.wexfordhealth.com ...Wexford Health has been implementing, staffing, and managing successful correctional health care programs for three decades. Clients trust us to maintain quality of care, generate positive patient outcomes, avoid lawsuits and negative publicity, and stay within budget. After all, isn’t that the point of contracting out your offender health care?

CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 47

48 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

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AD INDEX Page No.

Black Creek Integrated Systems ....................21 Bob Barker....................51 Centurion .......................2 Compliant Technologies .............20 Correctional Cable TV ..39 Sanitization Fogging is part of the suite of disinfection solutions provided by ABC Companies.

Continued from page 39 That customization concept in restraints and vehicles can help any agency make transport solutions fit like a glove. And those gloves worn by the female inmates in Arizona aren’t the only gloves that fit into a transport or vehicle repair program. Scott Taylor, Office of Public Affairs, Information, Policy and Public Affairs Division, BOP, points out, “The Bureau of Prisons has highlytrained staff who, with the assistance of an inmate work cadre, maintain the BOP's vehicle fleet.”

There are other programs across the country as well, including in To our readers: Please help us bring you the information you want by responding to this quick survey.

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California, where the end of 2020 saw its first auto body graduate in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s program achieve I-CAR Platinum Status.

That same elevated status concept is brought to inmate transportation by customization. The customized options in vehicles and restraints mean greater security, durability, adaptability, accountability and carbon neutrality. Taking advantage of these future-facing innovations offer a path to precisely fulfill your agency’s transport needs.

For more info: Matthews Specialty Vehicles, Inc., 336.265.6621, (Cheyne Rauber) crauber@matthewsgroupinc.com, www.msvehicles.com ABC Companies, 800.222.2871, bids@abc-companies.com, www.abc-companies.com CLEANS product offering: www.abccompanies.com/CLEANS The Bus Center, 205.365.5181, cclark@thebuscenter.com ASP, Inc., asp-usa.com Products: www.asp-usa.com/collections/transport Informational resources: youtu.be/Rm5f8mqlot0, youtu.be/kxmfoQiAGlM

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Drugloo ..........................9 Hazelden Publishing ....26 Institutional Eye Care ...50 Keefe Group .................52 Key Storage ..................37 Keytrak .........................15 Laundry Loops..............10 Medi-Dose Company....10,13,29,43 Real-Tite Plugs, Inc .......14 Sentry Security Fasteners ...................19 ShawnTech .....................5 StunCuff Enterprises ....13 STV Architects ................8 Swisslog Healthcare .....33 The Bus Center ...............8 Trinity Services Group ....7 Vistar Corporate ...........11 Western Union .............35 Wexford Health Sources ......................31 This advertisers index is provided as a service to our readers only. The publisher does not assume liability for errors or omissions.

CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021 49

COMPLETE EYEGLASSES

$14.95

Flexible Spoon Flexible material offers safety with enough rigidity for maximum function with heavier foods. Can be stepped on, twisted or crushed an maintains original shape.

RX Eyeglasses On-Site Optometry On-Site Ophthalmology Testing

1000 Facilities Nationwide 44 States - Federal in all 50 States Correctional Vision Care Since 1983

1-800-334-9880 www.bobbarker.com

Institutional Eye Care LLC website: institutionaleyecare.com email: info@ institutionaleyecare.com

EVA Unifoot Sandal

Unique design is interchangeable to fit right or left foot comfortably.

Reduces excess inventory by replacing one broken sandal versus a pair.

1-800-334-9880 www.bobbarker.com

50 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2021

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