Radio Coverage Enhancements for Correctional Facilities
Federal, state, and private prisons, penitentiaries, and correctional institutions can house up to 1,000 inmates at any time. In the US alone, there are over 3,000 detention facilities collectively housing over 2,000,000 inmates supervised by over 400,000 corrections officers. The sheer scale of our nations prison systems require strong, secure, and reliable communications solutions to effectively coordinate the activities of the tens of thousands of corrections officers working to keep millions of inmates safe and secure throughout their respective prison sentences.
Business Overview | Reliable Communications Increase Positive Outcomes
While the scale of the entire prison system may be daunting, it’s no less daunting when viewed through the lens of those operating individual facilities. Those facilities capable of housing one thousand inmates can employ over two hundred officers working to keep the peace and direct inmate activities. Whether those officers are coordinating routine tasks or mitigating the impact of emergency situations like fights, riots, or escape attempts, they need to be able to reliably keep in contact with one another to ensure swift resolutions and maximize positive outcomes.
Current Challenge | Inadequate In-Building Radio Coverage
The key function of detention facilities is to ensure inmates are unable to escape. In accordance with this goal, they are usually surrounded by various barriers such as large fences, several rows of barbed wire, tall brick or stone walls, and guard towers. The communications issues they face generally come from the materials used to construct their primary holding facilities – materials with high quantities of metal, cement, and brick.
Thick walls and narrow stairwells can lead to poor or non-existent radio coverage in various places throughout the facility — putting officers and inmates at unacceptable levels of risk. When orders are relayed, garbled transmissions can prevent officers from effectively communicating their needs — which can result in exceedingly negative outcomes. Because of this, most prisons require specialized DAS solutions to eliminate dead spots and enhance clarity throughout their facilities.
Solution Overview | Signal Enhancing DAS Solutions for Prisons
Every day, corrections officers face the difficult task of coordinating the schedules and activities of hundreds of inmates. To ensure smooth operations and secure the safety of every soul within the prisons walls, every officer is outfitted with a two-way radio. Those radios help to maintain constant contact with their peers and command structure. Officers and their commanders can not afford for a single radio to lose signal at any time or location within their facilities.
When properly configured, installed, and tested, Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) enhance a prisons radio coverage across the entire facility – especially in areas notorious for poor reception like stairwells. DAS components like BDA’s, HEU’s, and Ceiling Antennas become vital parts of the prisons overall communications infrastructure, ensuring radios broadcast clear and concise signals during day-to-day operations and emergency situations. Whether your officers are on different floors or in entirely different wings, they ensure signals are consistent and strong.
Our Team | Solution Engineering, Installation, and Support
For over 30 years, MCA has provided expert solutions to public and private agencies in need of two-way radios and signal enhancement systems. We provide top-tier support for all aspects of your critical communications projects. Our techs and install teams assess your needs, engineer customized solutions, and install hardware and software that fit your requirements.