How do I Assign Location Types with the Movement and Recreation Modules?

Correctional facilities are complex environments with several different areas to keep track of. From commissary and visitation rooms to holding cells, work assignments, and educational programs, officers need to know where inmates are at any given moment, especially if they’re intentionally assigned to a specific location.

For agencies using GUARDIAN RFID’s Command Cloud, tracking inmate locations and ensuring accurate documentation has never been easier. 

While a variety of location types exist in Command Cloud, this blog focuses on two location types: “Out of Cell” for the Movements module and “Yard” for the Recreation module. We’ll cover how each of them can be determined to help organize your facility structure and meet your unique operational needs.

This will be most educational for our Warrior customers who are in the midst of their migration phase with Command Cloud, but it is also beneficial for those curious to learn the best way to determine a location type when tracking inmate movements.

Determining Locations & Location Types

When an agency using GUARDIAN RFID starts migrating from the previous system, OnDemand, to the new and improved system, Command Cloud, a large factor to consider is how the agency will represent its physical locations within the digital platform. With Command Cloud, you can now organize your locations regardless of location type, anywhere in your facility tree structure (think family tree, but in a weird way where everyone only has one parent). 

This is a drastic difference from OnDemand, where all Out of Cell locations had to be together. Now in Command Cloud, you can group multiple location types into operational areas, such as booking. This was a highly requested feature in OnDemand, as it was difficult to combine holding cells, visitation areas, and service areas such as printing, photos, medical, and mental health. Now, all you have to do is create a parent-and-child relationship anywhere in your facility structure. This capability opens the door to a plethora of options. 

When an agency is determining movement locations to include in their facility tree structure, they first need to identify the specific locations where they intend to track an inmate’s movement, and whether that is optional or not. For example, does the agency want to allow inmates the ability to refuse Dayroom time when offered? How agencies answer this question identifies what the location type of this specific location needs to be.

See, each Location has a Location Name, Parent Location Name, and Location Type. For instance, the Medical area of a building would be listed as such (given the agency enforces medical visits as mandatory and not optional):

Location Name: Medical Holding

Parent Location Name: Medical Unit

Location Type: Out of Cell

Although the Location Name and Parent Location name may seem obvious, what determines the Location Type? Determining a Location Type solely depends on the agency’s decision on whether they want to track an inmate’s acceptance or refusal of placement. Usually, this is related to tracking refusals for compliance reporting.

If an agency decides on a location being involuntary (or in other words, “forced”), the Location Type would be assigned as “Out of Cell.” Examples of Out of Cell Location Types include Medical, Court, Holding Cell, Segregation, etc. Conversely, if an agency decides on a location being voluntary (or in other words, acceptable to refuse an offer for), the Location Type would be assigned as “Yard.” Examples of Yard Location Types include Dayroom, Church, educational programs, etc.

Once a Location Type is identified, officers will know which module they should use to document the inmate’s placement: Movement or Recreation. If an agency requires tracking an inmate’s acceptance or refusal of placement, they will use the Recreation module. If an agency does not require tracking an inmate’s acceptance or refusal of placement, they will use the Movements module. 

Movements vs. Recreation Modules

When evaluating a facility’s location structure and the temporary placement of inmates throughout, officers should familiarize themselves with two key modules in the Command Cloud system: Movements and Recreation. Here’s why they’re different:

Movements: This module is used when inmates are being transported out of their cells to mandatory locations where the inmates have no choice but to comply, or if an agency doesn’t require tracking inmate acceptance or refusal. It is mostly used in cases where the inmate will be moving throughout the facility to locations such as Escorting, Medical, Hospital, Visitation, and Cafeteria, but will not have their permanent location changed. No matter the specific location that the inmate is involuntarily assigned to, their “location type” will be Out of Cell as it is a “forced” transport. 

Recreation: This module is used when inmates are being offered transport to temporary locations, which they are allowed to either accept or decline. It provides inmates the opportunity to voluntarily comply or refuse transport to designated locations that the agency does not require tracking of acceptance, such as Dayroom, Church, educational programs, etc. Regardless of the specific temporary location that the inmate either accepts or declines, their location type will be categorized as “Yard,” as it is a voluntary transport. Using the Recreation module empowers officers to track who accepted and who declined an offer to a Yard Location Type.

By implementing a structured approach to inmate location tracking, including categorizing Location Types “Out of Cell” or “Yard” with their appropriate modules, not only is officer accountability supported, but the entire agency is improving organization, compliance monitoring, and operational efficiency. If you have any questions on how to determine Location Types of the process of GUARDIAN RFID Implementation, please contact your Project Manager by emailing Implementation@guardianrfid.com or reach out to us.