Essay Sample on Virtual Prisons: A Solution for Increasing Prisoner Population and Taxpayer Burden

Introduction

There has been an increasing number of convicts going to prisons in the present, and this has increased the burden on the taxpayer. The individual who is in prisons would be a great source of the country's income and labor in their respective countries particularly those criminals who are convicted for crimes of low magnitude. A way to solve the above issue is by the use of virtual prisons which offers an electronic form to track, capture audio and locate the prisoners while outside the prison. This may be enabled by the use of smart watches which are crucial in monitoring the prisoners through the following ways.

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GPS Tracking

Most smart watches provide GPS that is used for tracking the location of the prisoner or the location-specific alerts. It's majorly essential, in conjunction with other supervision methods, in checking and monitoring the activities that the one is involved in, distances that one has moved, accurate measure of speed and direction on a map. The risk of the prisoner trying to run away from the authorities is catered for, and besides, it offers an easy way of controlling the movements of the prisoners.

Heart Rate Alert

Smart watches do come with heart rates monitors that can measure the prisoner's heart rate from the wrist. This is virtual prisons will have very many advantages. Just like in the case of a polygraph, measurement of heart rate connected to intelligence may be capable of accurately detecting certain types of abnormal heartbeat rhythms. The assumption under this is that deceptive or irregular behavior leads to heart rates different from usual. Smartwatch heart rate monitor will also assist other situations such as providing details of the death of a prisoner.

GPS Signal Loss Alert

In many instances, electronic gadgets are vulnerable to loss of GPS signal. This signal can be blocked or degraded by the human made sources, natural sources or tampering by the prisoners. The smart watch will automatically provide an alert the loss of the signal

Sleep Monitoring

Smart watches have accelerometers, Gyro, and heart rate monitors which are essential in checking the sleeping habits of the prisoners. These monitors can check the quality of sleep and very well know the time the prisoners go to sleep or wake up. The reason for this is to control the number of hours that the prisoners sleep and to create surveillance during the night, a time when many may be tempted to get away.

Full Duplex Cellular Voice

This is a feature of the smart watch allows for communication between the prisoners and for receiving important information for instance, from the prison authorities. Unlike the half duplex that only uses half the capacity of the airwaves; the full duplex can receive and transmit simultaneously without making the connection much.

Network (client-server)

The access to the network (client-server), which is designed in such a way that the prisoners can gain to access resources from a server, will play a significant role in educating the prisoners and updating them on ways of improving their lives.

Back Up for the Smart Watch

The smart watch may face some unseen challenges that may require back up to prevent failure of the virtual prison. Most smart watch batteries are used up by the heart rate monitor. A way to avoid this is the use of more efficient sensors such as EPFL's which consume very little energy. The use of batteries that are rechargeable would also be a backup method against this challenge. Loss of signal is also an issue which requires back up. In cases of obstruction and disconnection, the prison authority should have a way to increase the frequency and also to take a series of different ranges and bearings avoiding single bearings. Standby officers should also be placed close to the prisoners as a way to avert any unseen efforts by the prisoners to breakaway.

Conclusion

It is clear that the use of smart watches may be an excellent method in monitoring prisoners 24/7 (virtual prison). There exist back up for the smart watches which make them very efficient.