You don’t need to work in a jail or prison for long to realize how combustible situations can become, seemingly without warning.
Correctional officers face among the highest rates of non-fatal injuries in the U.S. The potential for violence and physical harm is significant and cannot be understated. And both officers and inmates can be subject to injury, including death – with and without adequate supervision.
When a correctional officer faces significant pressure or suddenly finds themselves in a physical altercation, typically from inmates who are highly agitated for any number of reasons, the need to call for assistance can be crucial to their safety and to maintaining order and control.
Officer duress systems are designed to help request assistance discreetly, and often with a simple button push. These are protective systems for officer safety, particularly in situations where the officer might not be able to make a verbal distress call or use conventional communication methods, such as their radio.
In this blog, we’re going to talk about officer duress systems, and what role Command Cloud can play in them.
Officer duress systems can be built with a wide range of technologies, ranging from real-time location systems (RTLS) to global positioning systems (GPS). Within the RTLS category, there are several, similar underlying technologies. This includes:
Of these technologies, active RFID was the predominant technology for officer duress and long-range inmate tracking. However, active RFID’s high cost, complexity, and operating expense have resulted in corrections leaders being challenged in justifying its selection.
In more recent years, BLE has become a technology challenger to active RFID due to its affordability and ease of operation. However, there are several downsides to BLE technology, including:
GPS is optimal for tracking assets over long ranges and generally, when you’re outdoors. However, GPS struggles with indoor tracking because its signals are diminished by buildings and environmental factors. GPS receivers are also expensive, power-hungry, and lack fine-grained accuracy.
In most cases, officers using a duress system carry small, discreet panic buttons or duress alarms on their uniforms or equipment (e.g., on a radio). By pressing a button, a silent alarm is triggered to notify others of an officer’s distress.
Although officer duress systems are rarely activated on a daily basis, their importance during critical events is obvious. These systems are more frequently used in high-risk environments or operations, but overall, they serve as a crucial safety net for officers facing life-threatening situations.
In reality, most officers go their entire careers without needing to use a duress system. However, despite their rare activation, these systems provide essential support when officers need help the most.
GUARDIAN RFID does not support officer duress as a core capability within Command Cloud. We constantly evaluate technologies and technology vectors that can positively impact a wide range of GUARDIAN RFID users. As market conditions and our user community’s needs change, we may revisit this decision.
With that said, officer duress is an important technology to consider for your agency, and for some, officer duress may be a far more pressing need than for others. For example, if your facility has had a series of recent assaults or a rise in violence, an officer duress system may be part of your overall strategy to address staff safety concerns. Other tools, such as stab resistant vests, may be part of your consideration, too.
One way Command Cloud may lend value to your officer duress pursuits, however, is using the REST API layer of Command Cloud, known as WolfPack. Command Cloud’s REST API enables a wide range of third-party integrations – whether it’s using Command Cloud to provision officer duress users or visualizing duress alerts across Command Cloud applications.
Officer duress systems are designed to enhance the safety of correctional officers in potentially dangerous or life-threatening situations. By leveraging technologies like panic buttons, body cameras, GPS tracking, and real-time communication, officer duress systems provide correctional officers with critical tools to request assistance and ensure rapid response in emergencies.
RTLS and GPS are the most common technologies driving officer duress. For a wide range of correctional use cases, specifically officer duress, RTLS is likely the most advantageous technology to consider.
And within this category, active RFID and BLE are the predominant choices amongst officer duress systems, each with its own advantages and risks. It’s important to closely evaluate which technology best suits your need and your budget, as well as talking with agencies who have used officer duress to know the pros and cons from real-world experience.
While Command Cloud does not support officer duress as a core capability, the ability to integrate with officer duress systems can be supported with the REST API layer of Command Cloud.