RFID to be used for inmate tracking in L.A.
The Los Angeles County police, long revered for coddling their criminal population, is about to launch a pilot program to track 10% of their 18,000 prison inmates (such as O.J., Rodney King, Scott Peterson) using RFID devices. RFID use on the incarcerated is nothing new, but this appears to be a first in the prison-happy US. Inmates will be required to wear RFID bracelots (presumably locking and without studded spikes) which issue a beacon every 2 seconds — officers and staff will carry a similar device on their belts. RFID readers will pump the data back to a central computer to track such anti-social behavior as entering restricted areas, escaping, or "welcoming" new inmates with pretty mouths. The article says that the RFID signals will be received by "multiple" antennas. You got that right Enos, RFID maxes out around 500-feet so we're talkin' hundreds if not thousands of these things to cover an entire prison complex and perimeter. And those long range systems generally operate at the higher frequencies (like 2.4GHz) which is going to step all over inmates' WiFi-enabled gaming consoles denying them their god-given-right to bludgeon cops in GTA. We smell a class action — Robert Shapiro, you paying attention?
