MASSACHUSETTS PROBATION SELECTS 3M COMPANY
FOR GPS ELECTRONIC MONITORING CONTRACT

The Massachusetts Office of the Commissioner of Probation today announced that it has contracted with 3M Electronic Monitoring (EM), Inc. to implement a new GPS monitoring bracelet system with enhanced round-the-clock surveillance capability. A rigorous selection process was used to select this new vendor from six competing proposals to provide state-of-the-art technology to assist the Probation service in enhancing public safety. The new system also features crime correlation capability -- a tracking system to determine if a person is at or in the vicinity of a crime scene.

“With public safety as our top priority we have carefully selected a vendor which has an impressive history of service in the electronic monitoring industry,” said Probation Commissioner Ronald P. Corbett, Jr. “3M provides innovative technology with key new features that will enhance our efforts to monitor offenders in the community, which is a vital component of the criminal justice system.”

In Massachusetts, the Probation Service monitors 1,459 high-risk offenders on the GPS bracelet. Massachusetts was one of the first states to monitor probationers and selected parolees using an electronic bracelet more than a decade ago. The Massachusetts Probation Service also set a precedent when it began using the GPS bracelet.

“3M Electronic Monitoring is pleased to be selected by the Massachusetts Probation Service for this important program,” said Alejandra Lang, president of Florida-based 3M Electronic Monitoring. “We are especially proud to be providing our blend of innovative technologies, proven service and reliability to help Massachusetts Probation fulfill its important responsibilities.”

A wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M Company, 3M Electronic Monitoring was chosen from among six vendors during a thorough selection process that included a committee review and extensive field testing of electronic monitoring equipment and software. The one-year contract to lease GPS equipment and monitoring services is renewable annually for up to four years.

The versatile new GPS systems feature two separate equipment packages which allow continued tracking during disrupted communication periods, according to 3M. The water-proof ankle bracelet has multiple anti-tamper measures, so that when it is cut or stretched, the bracelet will set off an alarm in Probation's Electronic Monitoring Center.

The 3M TM One-Piece GPS Offender Tracking Device has a 24-hour battery life and GPS built into the bracelet to issue alerts if an offender travels beyond court-approved range. The bracelet tracks the location through satellites and the offender's location is transmitted to the Electronic Monitoring Center.

The3M TM Two-Piece GPS Offender Tracking Device features an electronic bracelet and a multi-functional device which also communicates with satellites and transmits the location of the offender to the Electronic Monitoring Center as well as enables two-way voice communication. Both units provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week tracking capabilities The units cost $4.30 per day for the one-piece unit and $5.50 for the two-piece unit.

3M Electronic Monitoring, formerly Pro-Tech Monitoring, has a reputation as a pioneer in the electronic monitoring industry having developed and designed the first offender monitoring device in the state of Florida, one of the first states in the country to track offenders by electronic bracelets. Established in 1902 as the Minnesota, Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M generated nearly $27 billion in annual revenue in the past year.