News  BMC-Dorchester Probation Officers install the new GPS equipment

The Massachusetts Probation Service has new GPS equipment and employees such as Probation Officer Klary Ruiz and ACPO Deizy Barbosa of the Dorchester Division of Boston Municipal Court are busy installing the new apparatus and switching out the old devices following recent training at the Massachusetts Probation Service Training and Operations Center (MTOC) in Clinton.

MPS has upgraded its GPS equipment and is in the process of switching out the equipment leased from Allied to new equipment manufactured by BI (Boulder Industries). More than 3,500 devices will be swapped over, according to Daniel Pires, Statewide Manager of ELMO.

There are approximately 3,500 active clients being monitored on GPS. Dorchester PO’s have installed over 50 new GPS units and will continue the process this week.

The two new pieces of equipment are the GPS LOC8 XT— “a device that provides upgraded battery performance through a non-removable battery and extended battery life,” according to the BI website—and equipment that resembles a sports watch called the “VeriWatch.” Individuals sentenced to GPS will all be monitored using the LOC8 XT, according to Mr. Pires. He said a determination will be made about who will be monitored using the VeriWatch.

“Our PO’s are doing a great job and I want to acknowledge their efforts,” said Shayna Simmonds, Field Service Operations Coordinator, Region 5.