New devices help Cobb County Jail track inmate safety checks in real time

New technology is replacing outdated paper logs at the Cobb County Jail.

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The new devices will track and monitor jail safety checks in real time.

The technology will also help deputies during medical emergencies at the jail. If an inmate is experiencing a mental health crisis or medical emergency, deputies can quickly pull up that inmate’s profile to help them better assess the situation.

“We have a ton of very hard-working employees. This gives them the opportunity to track their work in real time and with accuracy,” an official said.

The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office is the first agency in metro Atlanta to use Guardian RFID.

“We have 125 devices total,” an official said.

Sheriff Craig Owens says the technology will improve security checks, medical emergencies, inmate mealtimes and more.

“It’s all about being efficient, proficient in Cobb County, keeping our inmates safe as well as our deputies, and this is a great way to start,” Owens said.

Major Jacob Huval with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office said the technology replaces a process that relied heavily on manual entries.

“Prior to this, we did a lot of things analog style or just typing manually into a log, and that required a lot of recall, and accuracy may lack in that,” Huval said.

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The devices were demonstrated during a security check in the open dormitory area of the jail.

“If they find a homemade weapon, they can document which bunk it was found on. Each bunk has the tag, which indicates which inmate is assigned to that bunk,” Huval said.

Supervisors can better monitor a deputy’s work in the jail.

“They are able to monitor when we are missing a round or late on a round in real time,” Huval said.

Owens said the technology also provides documentation that inmates are being checked on in a timely manner.

“The family needs proof that their loved one has been checked on in a timely basis, and this gives us that proof,” Owens said.

Owens said the Cobb County Board of Commissioners approved the technology.

He said his team is still finalizing some details, so he could not provide an exact dollar amount for how much it cost.

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