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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 16 (Monday, January 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3989-3991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01235]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OJP (NIJ) Docket No. 1680]

Offender Tracking Systems Market Survey

AGENCY: National Institute of Justice, DOJ.

ACTION: Notice of Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is soliciting 
information in relation to the upcoming National Criminal Justice 
Research, Test, and Evaluation Center (NIJ RT&E Center) ``Market Survey 
of Location-based Offender Tracking Technologies.'' This market survey 
will be published by NIJ to assist prospective agencies in their 
assessment of relevant information on commercially available offender 
tracking systems (OTS) marketed for use by the criminal justice 
community, prior to making purchasing decisions. The NIJ RT&E Center 
invites comments with regard to the market survey, including which 
categories of information are appropriate for comparison. Vendors of 
such technology are also invited to provide promotional material (e.g., 
slick sheet) and images of the technology (e.g., a print-quality 
photograph).

DATES: Responses to this request will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on February 25, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Responses to this request may be submitted electronically in 
the body of or as an attachment to an email sent to 
[email protected] with the recommended subject line ``OTS 
Federal Register Response''. Questions and responses may also be sent 
by mail (please allow additional time for processing) to the address: 
National Criminal Justice Research, Test and Evaluation Center, ATTN: 
OTS Federal Register Response, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics 
Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Mail Stop 17N444, Laurel, MD 
20723-6099.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on this request 
for information contact Steven Taylor (NIJ RT&E Center) at (443) 778-
9348 or [email protected]. For more information on the NIJ 
RT&E Center, visit http://nij.gov/funding/awards/Pages/award-detail.aspx?award=2013-MU-CX-K111 and view the description or contact 
Jack Harne, by telephone at 202-616-2911 or by email at 
[email protected]. Please note that these are not toll-free 
telephone numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information Sought: The NIJ RT&E Center 
seeks input to its upcoming ``Market Survey of Location-based Offender 
Tracking Technologies.'' This technology, consisting of hardware and 
software component, is designed to determine and report at programmed 
intervals the geographic location at a particular time of an individual 
who is subject to criminal justice system supervision. Whether an 
agency faces a mandate to track domestic violence or sex offenders, has 
a need to more closely monitor higher risk offenders, or is looking for 
confinement alternatives for low-risk offenders, this technology can 
often be a practical tool for supervising and managing select 
individuals.
    This market survey will be published by NIJ to assist prospective 
agencies in their assessment of relevant information on commercially 
available OTS marketed for use by the criminal justice community, prior 
to making purchasing decisions. Vendors who respond to this

[[Page 3990]]

request for information are invited to provide general comments with 
regard to the market survey for the NIJ RT&E Center to consider, 
including which categories of information are appropriate for 
comparison, as well as promotional material (e.g., slick sheet) and 
images of the technology (e.g., a print-quality photograph).
    The NIJ RT&E Center intends to include, at a minimum, the following 
categories of information for each vendor and OTS model, service, or 
product:

1. Vendor Information
    a. Name
    b. Years your company has been in business
2. Product Information
    a. Types of equipment or products that are offered (e.g., new, 
used, refurbished, leased, etc.)
    b. Name and model number (e.g., device, monitoring software 
application, home monitoring unit, etc.)
    c. Multi-piece or one-piece configuration
    d. Physical dimensions (height X width X depth, in inches) of 
device (with strap, and included battery) or component
    e. Weight (in ounces) of device with strap and included battery
    f. Depth to which device is waterproof (in feet)
    g. Type of tracking (e.g., active, passive, or hybrid)
    h. Location where system stores zone and schedule information 
(e.g., onboard or monitoring software application)
    i. Location on the body where the device is worn
    j. Battery discharge time (hours of continuous operation before 
needing a charge)
    k. Battery shelf life (in months)
    l. Battery recharge time (hours required to fully charge battery 
after complete discharge)
    m. Battery replacement procedure and where it must be done (e.g., 
field or factory)
    n. Availability of supplemental charger for emergency battery 
charging (e.g., hand crank, backup battery, solar, etc.)
    o. Onboard memory storage (quantity of data that can be stored on 
device in number of files/alerts/days activity)
    p. Frequencies on which the device components operate (cite FCC 
part number)
    q. Type(s) of technology used to geo-locate the offender (e.g., 
GPS, WiFi, RF, cellular triangulation, etc.)
    r. Mechanism by which data is transmitted to the monitoring 
software (e.g., cellular, WiFi, landline, etc.)
    s. Auxiliary equipment (e.g., car chargers, emergency chargers, 
beacons, etc.)
    t. Manufacturer suggested retail price, without optional features, 
accessories or service plans
    u. Type and duration of warranty provided on the device(s) that you 
offer (e.g., what is covered in a standard warranty vs. what is covered 
in an optional or extended warranty)
    v. Means and frequency of monitoring center and monitoring software 
application backup
    w. Length of time data is retained in archives (in years)
    x. Any additional information not covered above
3. Usability
    a. Types of processes used to ensure usability of hardware and 
software products (e.g., requirements gathering, observation, task 
analysis, interaction design, usability testing, ergonomics, etc.)
    b. Types of data gathered from the user community (e.g., 
interviews, observations during hands-on training, survey, satisfaction 
surveys, repeat customers, etc.) to evaluate your products, and how 
often it is collected
    c. Types of user-group meetings and frequency of their occurrence
    d. Types of embedded templates supported by software (e.g., new 
offender, alert types, etc.)
    e. Hours of technology support and location (e.g., telephone or at 
agency)
    f. Hours of operation of monitoring center
    g. Hours and type of training provided (e.g., on-site, web-based, 
pre-recorded, play environment etc.)
    h. Types of post-training help and tutorials available
4. Features and Functions
    a. Maximum number of tracking devices that can be concurrently 
monitored by the monitoring/tracking software
    b. Number of data points per minute at which data:
    i. Is collected by the device
    ii. Is reported to the monitoring software
    c. Type of interoperability embedded in the design of the data and 
device output (e.g., other vendor software, other vendor devices, data 
standards with which the output is compliant, etc.)
    d. Types of alerts (e.g., exclusion zone or schedule violations, 
strap tamper or bracelet removal, low battery, loss of signal, 
communication failure, etc.) and way they are differentiated (e.g., do 
all alerts come up ``Alert'' or ``Cause + Alert'')
    e. Types of communication alerts to offenders (e.g., light, 
vibration, two-way communication, etc.)
    f. Single or multiple mechanisms for tamper detection of device or 
strap circumvention
    g. Types of acknowledgement by offender of an alert (e.g., one-way/
two-way communications for offender, telephone, etc.)
    h. Ability to notify/alert victims of domestic violence
    i. Types of mobile monitoring software applications to transmit 
alerts to personnel in the field
    j. Types of analytical capabilities to check tracking (e.g., crime-
scene correlation, offender congregation, time and duration 
differentiators, etc.)
    k. Types of real-time monitoring features (e.g., monitored 
offender's location can be ascertained on demand)
    l. Types of reports that are available (e.g., standard information 
examples, extent that reports are customizable, inclusion of maps, 
etc.)
    m. Types of on-demand custom reports
    n. Other unique features not covered above
5. Performance and Security
    a. Average time to install and activate device (in minutes)
    b. Range in performance of locational accuracy indoor and outdoor 
(in feet)
    c. False positive (alert generated when it should not have been) 
and false negative (alert was not generated when it should have been) 
rates
    d. Mean time to failure
    e. Minimum data collection rate (e.g., once/minute)
    f. Minimum number of data storage, in days, (e.g., seven, ten, or 
fourteen days)
    g. Mean length of time from alert to notification
    h. Security mechanisms against GPS or communication channel 
jamming, shielding, interception, or spoofing
    i. Data protection mechanism while in transit and during storage 
(e.g., SSL, encryption, password strength, etc.)
    j. Types of database change record maintenance practices for 
historical data
    k. Mechanism for maintaining

[[Page 3991]]

confidentiality of personally identifiable information about the 
individual being monitored

William J. Sabol,
Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Institute of 
Justice.
[FR Doc. 2015-01235 Filed 1-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P
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