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New technology will monitor inmates vitals, Cobb County sheriff says
Cobb County Sheriff's Office said they will be using a new form of technology to monitor inmate's vitals during their stay. This after three inmates died at the Cobb County jail in the last month. Sheriff Craig Owens Sr. said the new devices will help keep an eye on inmates ahead of jail staffing shortage.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - It’s a device that sort of looks like a smartwatch.
Cobb County’s sheriff said it could help save a life.
Following the deaths of three people behind bars at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center in May alone, Sheriff Craig Owens said the devices will help them monitor inmates, at a time when they’re exceptionally short-staffed.
"We just don’t have enough people to do some of the things we need to do," Sheriff Owens said. "But, we improve this by increasing our technology level."
Guards took FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo past the guard line and into the jail’s infirmary to get an up-close look at the device, called a PASS-5B detainee tag. They’re orange in color and, according to the sheriff, tamper-proof.
The model of the inmate tag Cobb will try out monitors heart rate and alerts jail staff if there’s a problem.
At first, the tags will go to inmates considered most at-risk. Cobb will be the first jail in the country to try them out.
"On these at-risk inmates, if we can catch them at a moment of vulnerability and intercede, [staff can] take action to protect that inmate," said Isaac Newton, president of Black Creek Integrated Systems, which manufactures the devices.
The devices run about $100 apiece, but the jail commander said the county will not pay a dime unless they’re effective.
Other models can check other vital signs and pinpoint inmates’ exact locations, Newton said.
The tags use Bluetooth technology, which is not immune to security threats, he added.
Since Sheriff Owens took office last year, six people have died behind bars there. Two of the three deaths within the last month were ruled suicides.
"I’m not proud of that but if you look around metro Atlanta, we’re not different than anywhere else," Owens said. "I don’t want one death. One death is too many."
On the mental health front, the sheriff says they offer 24/7 psychological and psychiatric services to inmates in an effort to prevent self-harm and suicide.