Community Corrections Officers Track Clients Using SCRAM Systems’ Pattern of Life Mapping
DENVER, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Jail decarceration efforts have reduced the overall incarcerated and detained population in the U.S. by approximately 11% during the pandemic, and the numbers of individuals on community supervision have increased. Supervising officers with expanding caseloads are being asked to do more with less. To help them succeed, SCRAM Systems has launched Pattern of Life (POL) mapping to provide streamlined analytics and unprecedented insights into the day-to-day activities of individuals being monitored with SCRAM GPS® location monitoring.
Historically, tracking individuals wearing GPS ankle monitors has required viewing raw GPS location points on a map, including hundreds of clusters and single points that officers then review and analyze. Officers would have to use a variety of methods to figure out if those stops were in approved locations, up to and including using Google Street View™, address research, and more. An average GPS client generates 1,440 data points a day, 10,080 points a week, and over 300,000 points a month, making the manual process of sifting through this mountain of data time-consuming and difficult.
“We knew we had to figure out a way to help our partners in community corrections make the process of decarceration—and tracking this influx of clients with SCRAM GPS in real time—easier,” said Lou Sugo, SCRAM Systems VP of Sales and Marketing. “That’s why we developed Pattern of Life mapping.”
SCRAM Systems created the client stop pattern report, allowing officers to quickly analyze days’ or weeks’ worth of data points quickly by consolidating clusters and identifying locations that a client visited. POL puts each GPS point into one of ten mapping categories (home, education, work, travel, services, social, shopping, worship, recreation, and other), summarizing where clients spend their time.
Categories help officers review stops and potential diversions from a client’s typical travel pattern. And mapping views give officers access to a variety of mapping options such as daily, weekly, or monthly viewing, helping consolidate client travel behavior over time. This critical information can even help officers identify areas that multiple clients are congregating frequently—intel that can then be analyzed to determine if that location may warrant additional investigation.
“We found this was a tool that not only helped us establish accurate client daily activities, but really reduced the time we spent reviewing data,” said Sam Banks with Pioneer Human Services, a SCRAM GPS service provider in Seattle.
SCRAM GPS provides superior location monitoring for sex and violent offenders and domestic violence caseloads. Additionally, GPS location monitoring is an effective alternative to incarceration for community corrections, helping officers more effectively supervise clients while enhancing community safety. Pattern of Life mapping is now available for all SCRAM GPS customers.
About SCRAM Systems
SCRAM Systems® is a leading provider of electronic monitoring and software solutions for the criminal justice industry. The company’s flagship SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring® (SCRAM CAM®) technology, launched in 2003 and revolutionized the way courts, agencies and treatment providers monitor and manage alcohol-involved offenders. In 2013 the company launched the industry’s most comprehensive suite of electronic monitoring technologies, which includes SCRAM Remote Breath®, SCRAM GPS® and SCRAM House Arrest®. The company has since launched software solutions including SCRAM Nexus® to support the adoption and deployment of Evidence-Based Practices, a mobile client engagement tool called SCRAM TouchPoint™, and the first license-based software platform, SCRAM 24/7™ to support probation and sobriety programs. SCRAM Systems employs 280 people worldwide and is a privately held company with headquarters in Littleton, Colorado.