Cons’ GPS bracelets bring bling to Jean

Monday, June 12, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY - When the state prison reopens at Jean late this summer, inmates will be wearing bracelets - but they won't be jewelry.

In an experiment, prisoners will be required to wear global positioning devices on their wrists to track their locations at all times. An alarm will sound if the convict enters an off-limits area or tries to escape. In the case of a prison brawl, the devices will show the corrections staff who was in the area where the fight occurred.

And if an inmate claims to have been assaulted by a prison guard, there will be a record of whether the inmate was at the correctional officer's post.

"It substantially increases the level of control without increasing staff," said Howard Skolnik, deputy director of the state Corrections Department.

Last week the state Board of Examiners approved a $1.1 million, four-year contract between the Corrections Department and Elmo-Tech Inc., of Elmhurst, Ill., for the monitoring system. Each transmitter will cost $375. The contract still must be approved by the Legislative Interim Finance Committee on Tuesday.

Darrel Rexwinkel, the department's budget director, said the system would provide "historical retention" that, in the case of an inmate being injured, will record the time of the incident and who was in the vicinity, helping officials to determine what happened. If an inmate tries to remove the bracelet, an alarm would sound.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, chairman of the Examiners Board, called the system "very efficient."

Rexwinkel told the board that the prison system sought 173 officers to staff the prison, but the Legislature reduced the figure to 140, while also allowing the prison to buy the surveillance equipment.

Noting that the extra officers requested would have cost the state $2 million to $3 million annually, he said the surveillance system is a far cheaper alternative.

Skolnik, who is stationed in Las Vegas, said the monitoring system would be a "one-time expenditure" as opposed to adding staff, which creates ongoing operational expenses.

The Southern Nevada Correctional Center at Jean, 25 miles south of Las Vegas off Interstate 15, has been closed while being redesigned as a 600-bed facility for male convicts 25 or younger. The monitoring system will be ready by the time the prison reopens in mid-September.