Although it may seem like your guard tour system is working fine, the costs and risks of an outdated system may be piling up right under your nose. As guard tour technology has advanced, so has the law and the sophistication of lawsuits against correctional officers and jails, prisons and detention centers. The law now favors enhanced record keeping and expects a high level of data integrity and accountability. If your facility is still relying on paper forms, vendor-proprietary devices, manual logging, data stored in on-premises servers, you could be at significant risk of security breach and legal liability.
How do outdated guard tour systems affect jail operations?
Outdated cell check and guard tour process can negatively impact your correctional facility in four primary ways:
- Increased maintenance and labor costs.
- Reduction in safety.
- Increased compliance violations.
- Greater risk of lawsuits, plus a weaker defense against those lawsuits
- Lack of real-time alerts
Let’s take a closer look at these impacts, based on their immediate or long-term impacts to your operations.
Maintenance & Labor Costs
Aged guard tour systems – especially those that rely on vendors with proprietary products that haven’t kept pace with technology – can create training and upkeep headaches for facility managers. Staff training on antiquated systems will get harder as time goes by. Repairs and replacement parts can become more expensive and difficult to source. Also, paper logs are notoriously unreliable.
If your system still uses manual logging or paper forms, labor is being wasted on time-consuming tasks that modern guard tour systems easily automate.
Officer & Inmate Safety
There is also an immediate threat to inmate and officer safety, as outdated guard tour systems often do not offer real-time tracking. Supervisors can be unaware of missed checkpoints, and critical incidents can receive a delayed response. For example, medical emergencies may go unnoticed longer, increasing injury and/or harm.
Long-Term Costs
Compliance Violations & Legal Risk
Penalties related to compliance violations represent unnecessary costs and administrative hassle.
Outdated cell check systems can lead to additional legal liability in correctional facilities. If your jail is involved in a lawsuit based on noncompliance with suicide watches or medical watches, the costs can be exorbitant. Without automated data entry, it may be hard to prove your compliance. Paper records and QR code-based systems are also easily falsified, and can be easily proven false later with CCTV footage.
Correctional facilities that continue using outdated systems assume significant risk – not only that adverse incident may occur, but that legal action could follow. In the event of a lawsuit, incomplete records, conflicting logs, or missing data may lead to costly settlements or unfavorable judgments. The longer a facility delays guard tour modernization, the higher the likelihood of system failure and financial consequences.
Due to their automation and real-time functionality, modern guard tour systems generate solid data that holds up in court, protecting correctional facilities from fabricated legal claims. Without that data, a facility may have no defense against legal challenges.
Do wand-based guard tour systems still meet compliance standards?
Wand-based systems do not usually alert in real-time before compliance failure – that is, the data they collect is later uploaded to a locally and centrally stored database. This shortcoming often means that wand-based systems just create records of non-compliance while doing nothing to help get your people there on time.
Wand-based systems fall short because, compared to modern systems, they aren’t especially useful for inmate welfare checks or high-security zones, nor can they capture adequate detail during a use-of-force incident or for court-ordered reporting. They also do not have body camera or video functionality. And without cloud-based data storage, it’s more challenging to share required data with supervisors and auditors.
Why is real-time monitoring important in modern security patrols?
Real-time monitoring prevents many adverse events from happening and limits the damages of the events that do happen. Combined with automated logging, supervisors are notified immediately when a round or checkpoint is skipped or delayed, providing an opportunity for instant intervention.
Additionally, real-time monitoring is a tremendous asset for accountability and transparency, as it proves with iron-clad data that patrols were actually done. This data stands up well to legal and compliance challenges, contributing to a solid risk reduction strategy.
Take a proactive approach to cell checks and risk reduction at your correctional facility.
Having an effective guard tour system in place is critical to controlling operational costs at your correctional facility. Reach out if you have questions about how a guard tour system supported by Life Check technology can benefit your facility and reduce your costs.