Officer Safety In Prison

Words: 626
Pages: 3

Imagine for a moment a correctional officer on duty in a prison cell block; alone and unafraid for some extended amount of time. He/she has been constantly staring at several video monitors, through the long hours; nothing moving or walking down any of the jail's corridors; glancing from monitor to monitor; yawning in between glances (you cannot look at all the monitors all the time, anyway). This officer is really sleepy; it has been a long work shift. He/she has worked overtime through the weekend; due in part to the needs of the short-handed staff, and financial assistance that the extra pay can provide. Imagine them being up the night before with a sick child.
Having painted the picture of a correctional officer that may be less than fully alert (let's face it, life happens), one can identify with some possible issues that might affect officer safety inside a prison cell block. One might believe that safety is much easier to manage these days. Inmates know that they are, or can be, constantly observed with video surveillance; but does this really help that much, or can
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Imagine if the video surveillance system had some extra features that automatically brought this officer out of a trance like state to alert him of activities that need attention; perhaps allow the officer to zoom and enhance images; or to replay footage to be sure what is being observed? Many correctional facilities are switching to Internet protocol cameras (IP cameras) to replace these older “analog” systems. The advantages of these cameras is, 1) they are connected through the jail's private network, 2) allow for quick connection to the system (no need for complicated installation or repair), 3) includes features like facial recognition, motion sensing, and tracking, 4) allows for the recording of clear video where there is a lot of action, and 5) has the capability of allowing any other work stations in the facility access to the