Kansas DOC Newsletter | December 2006
KANSAS SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
TO PROVIDE ELECTRONIC MONITORING SERVICES
The Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) has a new
ally in the supervision of sex offenders. The department has
contracted with Rocky Mountain Offender Management Systems
(RMOMS) to provide a full range of services for sex
offenders under electronic monitoring supervision. The services
extend to offenders who have 2 or more convictions for
sex offenses against children.
On November 20, 2006, Elmo Gatlin, Electronic Monitoring
Manager for RMOMS provided an overview of the system
and an equipment demonstration to Kansas Department of
Corrections staff members.
According to Keven Pellant, KDOC’s Deputy Secretary of
Community and Field Services, “The Kansas Department of
Corrections strives to fulfill its goal of public safety. Our partnership
with Rocky Mountain Offender Management Systems
will enhance our ability to supervise sex offenders by adding
another level to our ongoing case management efforts.”
The Kansas version of electronic sex offender monitoring is
known as Kansas Sex Offender Management Services
(KSOMS). Services provided by the company include equipment
inventory and maintenance, installation, tracking records
and tracking record archival. The system uses 3 types of technology
including the traditional Global Positioning Satellite
system as well as radio-frequency electronic monitoring and
Sprint cellular technology involving triangulation of the signals
emitted by the electronic monitoring devices.
With the assistance of KSOMS staff, parole officers and case
managers are able to set specific parameters for offenders,
such as defining areas they must stay within during certain
hours of the day. The devices also provide a date and time log
indicating whether the device itself or the strap that secures it
have been tampered with, or whether the equipment has
failed. The technology offers supervision agents ample warn
ing when the charge on the device is low, allowing enough
time to contact the offender and direct him or her to recharge
the device.
Contrary to previous electronic monitoring equipment which
came in several heavy pieces, the new devices consist of one
unit weighing less than a pound. The charger is a 15 foot cord
that hooks directly from the unit itself into an electrical outlet.
KSOMS maintains an individualized website for supervising
agents that allows them to view a log of an offender’s movements
and to make notations about the offenders on their
caseload. This feature assists supervising agents in detecting
patterns of behavior that might not otherwise be as noticeable.
For more information about the Kansas Department of Corrections
Sex Offender Supervision/Electronic Surveillance
Unit, please see the article on GPS monitoring in our September
newsletter at: http://docnet.dc.state.ks.us/
newsletters/2006/September_2006.pdf
For more information about KSOMS, please visit their website
at:
http://www.ksoms.net/INDEX.HTML
