But the department calls its proposal a vast improvement to the current tracking method. Inmates now wear standard identification wristbands, and their movements are tracked by a paper system that sheriff officials describe as “time-intensive” and “prone to error,” making it difficult to abide by consent decrees the county entered into in 2019 that requires it to improve jail conditions and accessibility.
The sheriff’s department did not specify whether every inmate would be required to wear electronic wristbands, but currently 2,585 people are incarcerated in Santa Clara County’s Elmwood jail in Milpitas and Main Jail in San Jose, according to the latest population data.
The idea, however, is raising concerns in some circles.
Cooper Quintin, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit that advocates for digital civil liberties, described the proposed technology as part of a larger trend he calls “E-carceration.”
“Technology (is) playing more and more of a role in the incarceration process,” said Quintin, who offered the example of Global Tel-Link, a telecommunications company that recently filed a patent for a robot that could replace certain tasks of a correctional officer.
“I think that this trend is largely unnecessary,” he said. “Incarcerated people are already some of the most surveilled and tracked people on the planet.” While Quintin does not consider the wristband technology particularly harmful, he warned that it could be a slippery slope.
“My concern is that more innocuous things like these bracelets pave the way for these other, more insidious technologies,” he said.
If approved by the Board of Supervisors in May, the county will enter into a five-year, $1.6 million contract with Guardian RFID, a Minnesota-based company that creates technology for correctional institutions.
If inmates end up wearing the wristbands, sheriff deputies would use a handheld scanner that will collect an individual’s identity and location, as well as the time and date of the interaction. While the scanners can take photos and videos, the wristbands themselves don’t collect audio, according to the sheriff’s department.
A sheriff’s department spokesperson did not respond to a request to elaborate on the need for the technology.
On Tuesday, supervisors pushed a vote on the new wristbands to late May after Supervisor Joe Simitian said he wasn’t provided enough time to review details about the technology.
The delay sparked a quick rebuttal from Sheriff Laurie Smith..
“We need this,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We need this now. Supervisor Simitian seems to always want to be an obstacle.”
Guardian RFID advertises on its website an array of hardware and software products for correctional facilities, including the ability to track inmates and prison guards. One feature in the company’s “Operational Intelligence” product allows jail administration to track how efficiently its staff members are working.
“Ever have the feeling that your officers aren’t actually looking in windows during their rounds(?)” the website reads. “Operational Intelligence can’t fix human nature, but it can apply artificial intelligence to your rounds, unlocking insights into how quickly your officers do rounds, and how well they randomize their rounds.”
Nearby Santa Cruz County has also utilized Guardian RFID’s technology. According to the company’s website, the county replaced its paper inmate tracking system in 2018 with electronic wristbands for their 500-bed jail.
Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, who has been at the forefront of the county’s jail reform efforts, said in a statement that while a technological overhaul was necessary, she had concerns about its implementation and is open to exploring other companies to contract with.
“Updating the jail management system from paper to digital is necessary to facilitate the jail reforms and improved programming the community has called for,” she wrote. “However, we must ensure the new system protects the privacy rights of those in custody and carefully consider which RFID company is best suited for this critical project.”
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