Calling it “The Future of Community Corrections,” Reentry Central received the following information from Telmate Guardian to share with our readers:
“The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office today announced their adoption of Telmate Guardian, a technically advanced, low-cost, smartphone-based, GPS monitoring solution for low-risk populations in community corrections. Community correction includes pre-trial, work-release, probation and parole. Telmate Guardian provides a secure and easy way to monitor more individuals and maintain tighter control, all while utilizing a smartphone – a piece of hardware everyone owns.
Rob Reardon, Director of Corrections at Lafayette said, “The adoption of Telmate Guardian will give Lafayette the opportunity to have a low-cost alternative to supervise low risk offenders while getting more data about their whereabouts and behaviors.” Reardon oversees jail operations and programs like the Sheriff’s Tracking Offender Program (STOP), which is a pre-trial program. He noted that Lafayette prides itself in exploring challenging ways to provide the most innovative services for the community. “Guardian seems to be the right fit to take this pre-trial program to the next level,” Reardon said.
The free Telmate Guardian app is compatible with both Android and Apple smartphones, and requires no new hardware or equipment for case managers and enrollees, making it a low cost, robust and easy to use monitoring solution. Guardian offers case managers real-time supervision, easy to read reports, and check-in controls, along with features like photos, voiceprints, and location compliance zones that make it simple to actively pinpoint and supervise enrollees.
Case managers simply set up a new user online and provide a unique PIN to the enrollee; the enrollee then downloads the app and signs up. Based on their program, enrollees are prompted to check in by reading a random series of numbers. Voice and facial detection confirm the check-in as successful. All check-ins are reported and delivered to the case manager, which adds unprecedented human insight for case managers, who can determine not only where enrollees are, but how they are. Additionally, case managers can easily increase supervision coverage as a result of Telmate Guardian.
“Telmate Guardian is a win/win for community corrections in Lafayette,” said Telmate Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff Hansen. “Case managers get a simple, powerful way to add a layer of effective monitoring, and enrollees get a modern, familiar and dignified solution that supports them getting out and staying out.”
For more information about Telmate Guardian click here.
