The conditions inside the Fulton County Jail system are concerning with inmates at one Atlanta, Georgia jail sleeping on plastic trays on the floor. Footage from local news reports show cell doors hanging off hinges and leaked water pools on the floor in some areas. Additionally, bed bugs killed one person in September last year.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office runs several jails around Atlanta and has been granted more funding to address these issues. The office is also implementing a new surveillance system that tracks inmates. Hundreds of sensors are being mounted in the jail walls that communicate with wristbands issued to the inmates using radio frequencies. This system is developed by Talitrix, a Georgia-based tech firm. The system tracks the inmates’ heartbeat, location every 30 seconds, and creates 3D images indicating who they contact. Public records, including a legal agreement, statements of work, and internal PowerPoint presentations, provide an insight into the monitoring system’s operations.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Talitrix claim that this system can make understaffed prisons more efficient and enhance overall safety. Monitoring the inmates’ heart rates can alert the staff to potential health problems or suicide attempts. Critics, however, believe that such monitoring technology subjects inmates to increased surveillance and fails to address the deeper issues of the criminal justice system.
Talitrix’s system is one of several electronic monitoring devices deployed in multiple jails in the United States. Some target suicide risks, while others use RFID chips that require manual scanning. Prisons and jails have turned to automation to monitor and regulate individuals caught up in the system as they face staffing shortages. Academic researchers argue that inmates are one of the most surveilled, documented, and data-divided populations, without the option to opt-out.
“Inside the Walls”
Talitrix’s tracking system consists of two parts: the physical infrastructure-sensors in the jail and Fitbit-like wearables-and software that allows correctional officers to observe collected data and receive alerts.
According to company documents, Talitrix began collaborating with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in September 2021. Following a trial of the system’s functionality in one of the region’s jails, the technology expanded use from February 2021. The project targets the installation of 750 sensors, costing $350 each, and the provision of 1000 wristbands, each at $130. Although those familiar with the project report that the sensors are being deployed around the jail and not inside cells, the associated software’s annual cost runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Justin Hawkins, Talitrix’s CEO, noted that the plan will see around 450 inmates wearing wristbands in the region’s primary Rice Street jail, including the psychiatric and acute medical wards. Although the Sheriff’s Office has been experimenting with the wristbands’ use and planning to scale up their deployment, the timeline for their full deployment remains undetermined, according to Lt. Col. Jarrett Gorlin.
The conditions inside the Fulton County Jail system are dire. Inmates at one of the jails in Atlanta, Georgia, are sleeping on the floor in plastic trays. Cell doors hang off hinges, footage from one local news report shows, and leaked water pools on the floor in some areas. Last September, one person was found dead and covered in bed bugs.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, which runs multiple jails around Atlanta and has been granted more funding to fix the problems, is also in the process of rolling out a new surveillance system that can track inmates to precise levels. Across the region’s jails, hundreds of sensors are being embedded into the walls. Using radio frequencies, these communicate with wristbands issued to inmates.
The system, which was created by Georgia-based firm Talitrix, can track an inmate’s heartbeat, determine their location every 30 seconds, and create 3D images showing who comes into contact with whom. Documents WIRED obtained through a public record request, including a legal agreement, statements of work, and internal PowerPoint presentations, describe how the monitoring system operates and provide a glimpse into its inner workings.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Talitrix claim the system can help make understaffed jails more efficient and increase overall safety, while monitoring heart rates can alert staff to an inmate’s potential health problems or suicide attempts. Critics, meanwhile, say monitoring technologies subject inmates to more surveillance and fail to address deeper issues with the criminal justice system.
The Talitrix system is one of a number of electronic monitoring devices being deployed in the sprawling web of local jails in the United States—and it may be one of the most sophisticated. Some appear to focus on suicide risk, while others have used RFID chips that are manually scanned. As jails and prisons face staffing shortages, they’ve increasingly turned to automation to monitor and control people caught up in the system. At the same time, academic researchers have said inmates are “one of the best surveilled, data-fied and documented populations,” without a choice to opt out.
“Inside the Walls”
Talitrix’s tracking system is made up of two parts: the physical infrastructure—sensors embedded in the jail and Fitbit-like wearables—and its software that allows corrections officers to monitor data being collected and receive alerts.
Talitrix first started working with Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in September 2021, company documents show. The firm initially ran a trial of its system within one of the region’s jails while it was developing the technology, and it has been expanding its use since February of this year. In total, the documents show, 750 sensors (costing $350 each) are to be installed and 1,000 wristbands (at $130 each) provided. The sensors are being placed around the jail but not within cells, those involved say. Use of the software costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
The plan is for around 450 inmates to wear the wristbands as part of a deal at the region’s main Rice Street jail, says Justin Hawkins, CEO of Talitrix. This includes the psychiatric and acute medical wards. (Lt Col Jarrett Gorlin, from the Sheriff’s Office, confirms that the department has been trialing the wristbands and is planning to further roll out the technology, although a “timeline for the full deployment is yet to be determined.”)