NEED
A Dallas based company is pioneering the newest alternative to
prison sentences by using electronic monitoring at the home. Electronic
probation is one solution to the overcrowding and expense of prison.
The data from the monitoring devices was captured in a variety
of computers using both MS-DOS and UNIX operating systems. Different file
formats and reports had to be hand-keyed into other computers for accounting,
electronic mail, and weekly reporting. High labor costs resulted.
The requirement was for the proper distribution of the output of
the monitoring devices to be sent to the parole officer in the event of a
violation of the parolee's terms of parole. Information had to be collected,
sorted, and analyzed against the parolee's personal schedule as set by each
parole officer. Violations needed to be sent immediately via electronic mail
directly to the parole officer.
SOLUTION
A Local Area Network (LAN) file server computer and a Network
Operating System were specified by Mitsi engineers. An existing computer was
re-formatted with the new network operating system, and the workstations were
tied together via the LAN. Individual off-the-shelf equipment was integrated
into a complete system.
Multi-user and multi-tasking applications software was developed
using a compiled version of Dbase III. The software automatically resolved the
unique file system formats for four different monitoring devices into a common
database.
The software also kept track of the hundreds of parolees and
their parole officers, placed automatic phone calls to follow up potential
violations, and kept a log of events that is used during parole violations and
in weekly reports. Re-keying of data was eliminated, thereby cutting staff at
peak times from fifteen monitoring personnel to only three. Reports are
formatted and sent on a violation, daily, or weekly basis depending upon the
terms of the parole.
Control of automatic dialing of the phone system, a video tape
recorder, and a video telephone were included.
Mitsi also developed a radio transmitter that was
small in size, light in weight and secure against tampering. The extensive use
of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) was required.
