Carbon County officials are looking into an electronic system that would help corrections officers do their checks of inmates.

On Wednesday, the county prison board discussed the Guard1 Plus Timekeeping System at a cost of $22,896.The cost of the system would be covered by the Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool, of which Carbon is a member. PCoRP set money aside to implement this electronic system in facilities that are a member of the pool."I think it's something that would definitely help here at the facility," Warden Timothy Fritz said, adding that it would also help with any litigation claims.Fritz said the system allows corrections officers doing their rounds to tap a button with a specialized pipe that logs them in. They then tap a second button on each of the inmates' cell doors with that pipe to record the checks. All information automatically then goes to the computer system."We can print out reports daily or weekly to make sure officers are doing proper checks," Fritz said.The system would also help monitor those on suicide watch because the corrections officer would tap the cell door and then have a keypad to describe what the inmate is doing in their cell.Right now, all checks are done and handwritten on forms.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein asked if there were any electronic record of the officer checks at this time.District Attorney Jean Engler replied that there are cameras in the prison.Fritz added that this will cut down on the amount of time administration would have to look through tapes to make sure records are correct.Sheriff Anthony Harvilla said that there are benefits to this system, including eliminating the opportunity of rounds not being done and then just written down as if they were.Commissioner William O'Gurek asked if there are long-term costs besides the $1,400 annual maintenance fee with the system.Fritz said that there is a five-year warranty on the hardware, but was told by the company that the pipes and readers typically do about 4 million to 5 million reads before they need to be replaced."They could last 10 to 20 years," he said.The board plans to look into the system further before making a final decision.