Pre-trial Bonding Director Mike Welling and coordinator Melissa Kukoly explained the program to commissioners during the court’s meeting, saying the use of the global positioning satellite system could help alleviate costs connected with the county jail’s female inmates.

“We gave one of the bracelets to County Judge Mark Barr, who was taking a trip to the Dallas area, this weekend. We had the bracelet set on a 15 minute interval, meaning it pinged his location every 15 minutes,” said Kukoly, showing the court a list of the locations the judge had visited. “As you can see, it gives us the exact address where he was staying.”

And although he was unable to “trick” the system, Barr said it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

“I tried everything I could think of,” said Barr with a laugh. “I even went so far as to wrap the thing in tin foil to see if that would keep the signal from going out. Nothing I tried worked, however.”

While Barr had the luxury of carrying the bracelet in his pocket, Kukoly said inmates in the program won’t be so lucky.

“The large rubber strap that holds the unit on their ankle has a sensor in it,” said Kukoly. “If that band is cut or broken, the sensor immediate detects it and reports it. And while the bracelet Judge Barr took with him was set on 15 minute intervals, the ones we’ll be using on inmates will be set at one-minute intervals. So if anything happens, we’ll know almost immediately.”

As for accuracy, Welling said the system depends mainly on cellular telephone towers.

“It uses those towers to triangulate the signal,” Welling told the court. “So it all depends on that. Sometimes, on the report, it will show several addresses at one time. Others, such as when Judge Barr was where he was staying this weekend, it nailed it down to a single address.”

Welling said the program doesn’t come without cost, however.

“The daily cost of the bracelet and monitoring system depends on the intervals in which it pings, so we’re looking at between $5 to $10 a day,” Welling told the court. “That cost would be paid for by the inmate and is part of a contract they have to sign. However, when you compare $10 a day to the $45 a day it’s costing to keep them in jail, I believe it’s very effective.”

Kukoly said the idea of “house arrest” can also save the county money on other items that must be provided in jail.

“If they are under house arrest, they have to provide their own medical services,” said Kukoly. “They also have to provide their food, and this will allow them to keep working, which is a big plus.”

The county’s Pre-Trial Bonding program offers low-interest bonding to county jail inmates awaiting trial for non-violent offenses and who are unable to bond out using a commercial agency.

Commissioners approved the use of the monitoring program — and 10 ankle bracelets — in February.

According to Barr, the same type of program has flourished in Ector County.

“Odessa managed to save $3 million using this program,” said Barr. “And while this is being used for pre-trial bonding, it could later be used for post-trial.”

Welling said he has already signed one female inmate to the program, which should be up and running in a few weeks.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it