Inmate wristbands for Cape Girardeau County jail inmates

In support of Cape Girardeau County's "thin gray line" -- a reference to corrections officers -- the County Commission on May 15 approved $77,971.25 to buy a wristband identification system for inmates at the Jackson lockup.

The money will come from the sheriff's office building and maintenance budget.

Commissioners Clint Tracy, Paul Koeper and Charlie Herbst also approved a $12,000 annual program maintenance fee.

"We've been trying to look for some time-saving features to assist our staff and chose Maple Grove, Minnesota-based Guardian RFID to provide this system," said Ruth Ann Dickerson, sheriff since 2018.

RFID -- radio frequency identification -- devices use radio waves to identify people or objects through a device contained in a wireless device or a tag without making physical contact or even requiring a line of sight.

An expansion of the county lockup at 216 N. Missouri St. is currently underway with general contractor Penzel Construction of Jackson tasked with a 2024 completion.

Once completed, the jail will hold approximately 500 inmates, but the county is ordering 1,600 of the chip-installed wristbands.

"We have inmates going in and going out so we have frequent turnover and every new inmate will get a new band. Once an inmate leaves the county lockup, that wristband is deactivated and not used again," said Dickerson, who has spent 38 years working in the county sheriff's office, having succeeded current U.S. Marshal John Jordan.

Dickerson said in the highly secure environment of the jail, it is helpful to have streamlined procedures for handling the inmate population.

She offered an example of the new technology's advantages.

"Whenever someone is moved from the cell pod to a transport, say for an appearance in court, currently the officer in charge has to be contacted by phone to look up where the inmate is going. With this new system, once the wristband is scanned, the inmate is instantly identified instead of having to go and do it all via paper and copy the information into a written log," Dickerson explained.

Dickerson said it will take at least 90 days before the new RFID wristband system is operational.

Of note

• Commissioners approved County Clerk Kara Clark Summers' request to collect bids for new election equipment.

"The last time we got new equipment was 2011 and with 12 years of wear and tear, we need to get going on this," Summers advised.

• Scott Ringwald of Cape Girardeau has resigned from the five-member Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CGCTA) board of directors effective Friday, June 30. Ringwald had served on the panel for 15 years. CGCTA was formed in 2000 to "increase county residents' access to health care, social services and general life needs," according to www.cgcta.com.