Colorado Department of Corrections Purchases Offender Monitoring Equipment

The Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Colorado Judicial Branch Division of Probation Services selected BI Inc. to provide electronic monitoring equipment and services for community-based offender supervision. The five-year contract for electronic monitoring equipment and related services is valued at $9.3 million.

Under the agreement, BI will supply 1,600 BI 9000 electronic monitoring units and the option to use other BI products. The agreement also calls for BI to extend service to rural mountain communities, including Steamboat Springs, Durango and Alamosa.

The BI 9000 electronic monitoring system detects the presence or absence of an offender at a specified location, typically home. The system is radio frequency-based and consists of a transmitter worn by the offender, a field monitoring device installed in the offender's home (together these devices are a unit), and a host computer.

The company will also provide 24/7 monitoring services. These services include monitoring the individuals from a national monitoring center and updating offender schedules, alerting law enforcement to violations of schedules, and installing and removing equipment from participants. Colorado DOC officials will be able to access, update and receive reports from the Internet using BI's secure Web site.

Colorado officials estimate the electronic monitoring program saves taxpayers millions of dollars annually as offenders are diverted from costly halfway houses, jails or prison. The company's electronic monitoring systems also provide accurate verification of an offender's compliance to court-ordered schedules while on probation or parole.