BI Incorporated, a national provider of offender monitoring technology, treatment and training services for community corrections agencies, has released an informative white paper that will help agencies differentiate between different types of Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies used to monitor community-based offenders. Authored by Jim Buck, a 25-year veteran of the electronic monitoring industry, the white paper discusses ways that GPS tracking systems receive GPS data and reliable alternatives when man-made or geographic features may interrupt these GPS signals.

Called “Autonomous GPS, Assisted GPS or AFLT: What and Why,” this white paper is available at http://bi.com/wpapers. Specifically, this white paper outlines three different ways GPS tracking systems can reliably receive GPS data, including:

• Autonomous GPS—signals are received directly via the GPS satellite network
• Assisted GPS—cellular network signals assist in the transmission of GPS data to the receiver
• Advanced Forward Link Trilateration—the triangulation of signals from at least three cell towers to determine the approximate location of a GPS tracking receiver

In community corrections, differences in landscape and cellular coverage make it impossible to create a one-size-fits-all GPS tracking system. This white paper outlines how these three transmission modes make it possible to track offenders in almost any setting.

“GPS tracking technology continues to grow as a reliable method to track community-based offenders,” said Buck, a BI senior product manager whose track record goes back to developing some of the first electronic monitoring systems used in community corrections. “The availability of different transmission modes for GPS tracking systems boosts the utility of this technology for supervising offenders across sprawling rural areas, dense urban hubs and everywhere in between.”

About BI Incorporated (www.bi.com)
Established in 1978, BI Incorporated is the leading technology and supervision company in community corrections today. BI has contracts with more than 1,000 governmental agencies nationwide, supporting them with a full continuum of intensive supervision technologies and community-based counseling, treatment services, and reentry programs for adult and juvenile offenders. BI’s national monitoring center, owned and operated by BI, provides 24/7 expert support supervision services exclusively for governmental agencies. BI works closely with local public corrections officials to cost effectively reduce recidivism, promote public safety, and strengthen the communities it serves.