GPS Tracking Explored to Keep Parole Officers Safe

Parole officers have dangerous jobs, with the occurrence of unexpected, dangerous situations at any moment. Checking in on ex-inmates and other criminals poses a risk to their life each and every day. And often, a parole officer handles this delicate, unnerving  job alone.

A parole officer’s main responsibility is watching over criminals that have been released from prison. Whether through phone calls, in-person follow-up visits, or family communication, it’s the parole officer’s job to keep an eye on released ex-inmates or criminals.

Typically, a parole or probation officer meets with each parole at least once a week. One parole officer can have 40 to 100 cases at one time, which leaves them open to a plethora of potentially dangerous situations. While the majority of these meetings with parolees are under safe circumstances, situations arise where the parole officer is put into danger from various criminal activities by the parolee.

However, a parole officer’s job can be made safer, with the help of modern technology, like GPS tracking devices — particularly GPS tracking devices equipped with a panic button, like LiveView’s GPS Tracker PT8100.

In addition to continuous efforts to track paroled criminals themselves, Corrections Canada is exploring the feasibility of using GPS tracking devices to improve the safety of parole officers when checking on ex-inmates and criminals outside prison walls. As such, the department would also like to fit parole officers themselves with GPS devices.

Here’s how it would work. Located on the GPS tracking device, a parole officer in trouble could pull the emergency latch or press a button — a GPS tracker panic button if you will — which would trigger an alert to a monitoring staff.  But because the device has a built-in GPS tracker, the monitoring staff would know in real time the parole officer’s whereabouts, and be able to come to his immediate assistance. What’s more, to help them find the parole officer quickly, the device would light up, vibrate, and make a beeping sound.

The device would be attached to the parole officer’s uniform and be connected to a nearby wireless network. Not only do the GPS devices allow for tracking, but the monitoring, alert features, and new found panic buttons help keep parole officers safe and to get emergency assistance before the parole officer is harmed.

It is hoped that a modern day GPS tracking device equipped with a panic button will go a long way to keep parole officers safer.

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