Chapter 3

The benefits: How it helps

This innovative approach by Cisco and our partner TRACKtech™, has been designed to
address the challenges of high recidivism rates and overwhelming caseloads faced by
those responsible for community supervision and to support those who are reentering our communities.

By incorporating industry-leading video conferencing powered by Cisco Webex Teams, government agencies can
now enable an easy-to-use collaboration solution that lets staff members and clients connect anywhere, anytime.

Increased caseload efficiency

The technology is helping the judicial district to safely and securely increase the number of client visits
per day per staff member.

This includes up to a threefold increase in face-to-face time between staff
members and their clients.

A key part of this success is the reliable and secure mobile video conferencing capabilities provided through
Webex Teams. This allows virtual visits by staff members to participant homes, increasing safety and
the number of client visits per day.

The approach has been especially effective for juveniles, who have a strong acceptance of smartphone apps, empowering them to participate in a way that is more familiar and comfortable. Supervision officers also
benefit from faster processing of clients. According to one officer, “It does wonders [for my entire caseload].
I can simply click my entire caseload in seconds, where curfews can take hours and sometimes
multiple evenings.”

“[The TRACKtech solution is] less intrusive than late-night home visits. I believe the juveniles like interacting on phones.
Even with officers it’s more ‘natural’ for them because this is just how they interact with people now.” — Judicial District Supervision Officer

Reducing travel times and expenses

The solution is also helping agencies reduce financial and physical costs associated with travel. This includes fuel bills, fleet maintenance, lost productivity, and environmental impacts such as carbon emissions.

Staff members no longer have to drive hours in some cases to meet a single client or spend unproductive time behind the wheel. Instead, they allocate this time to visit other clients or collaborate with team members. In fact, with the reduction in fuel costs, fleet maintenance, and commute time, the agency significantly reduced their fleet and field budgets.

Improving safety for officers and caseworkers

By deploying mobile technology, agencies can reduce safety concerns by enabling virtual check-ins with clients. This allows caseworkers to inspect a client’s physical environment, via video conferencing, to confirm compliance and that the client’s personal safety is being maintained. The solution also allows staff to inspect a client’s environment before entering a home whenever a personal visit is required. This provides them with enhanced situational awareness, alerting them to potential dangers before they enter.

Lowering failure rates

Deploying mobile technologies that are easy to use is key in providing additional touch points with program participants, such as helping to address relapse rates and mental health issues through telecounseling. By increasing one-on-one dialogue between community healthcare providers and clients, via the industryleading Webex Teams feature, clients become more engaged and committed to staying compliant. It also helps them better underst and the value of becoming a healthy and productive citizen.

Enhancing team collaboration

By deploying Webex Teams, the judicial district is able to empower each user with their own space for meeting, messaging, whiteboarding, and collaborating. This also provides users with a reliable and secure experience and allows the judicial district to apply and enforce customized software policies based on specific needs.

“ [Client] demeanor is different on the video conferencing than in the office, because I feel they are more relaxed. I think the check-ins are easy for them as well. It doesn’t interfere with whatever they are doing at that time, as it’s a simple click.”
— Judicial District Supervision Officer