Just one week before the UK Government publishes its Punishment in the Community green paper, GEC Marconi’s Swindon-based Elec tronic Devices Ltd has finally chosen to release details of its electronic tagging system for monitoring criminals doing time at home (CI No 958). The company, which developed the system in association with West Palm Beach, Florida-based Corrections Services Inc, claims that after evaluating existing US products and grappling with questions of size, weight, and performance it has come up with a standard, sophisticated and reliable unit, which could easily be customised for Europe and the UK. Essen tially two varieties have been developed – an ankle device which emits radio signals picked up within a certain radius by a re ceiver, or a wrist tag which answers random check up calls gener ated by a central personal computer – an adapted MS-DOS micro is being used in the US – with an audio signal, when slotted into a receiver attached to a telephone. Marconi was unwilling to divulge the VHF bandwave used, hardware or price details, arguing that existing arrangements might not apply outside the US, but was keen to point out that its ankle product was the only one to be fully waterproof and powered by a rechargeable battery unit. One large order for the product – which costs around $3 a day, depending on telephone charges, to operate – has already been clinched, and first ships are set for August. Meanwhile, Marconi admits it will be watching events at home with keen interest: informal talks have already been held with the Home Office, which is believed to be considering the possibility of a UK tagging trial. The system clearly has potential beyond its use in penol ogy, and other areas where applications are currently being evaluated include medicine, welfare and transport.
