Say no to GTL ViaPath's Wristbands in Florida's Prisons.

Hey, readers.

I had started to write up a long post about this, but I'll just truncate for the sake of info delivery with expedience.

Wristbands are trying to come.

Florida DOC is being sued by Securus, over a contract that would have obligated Securus to provide wristbands to inmates that track their whereabouts.

FDC then went to GTL ViaPath, offering a contract for tracking wristbands.

I am certain there's some flavor of context I am missing by virtue of being inside the concertina wire, but there seems to be bad blood between FDC and Securus over this.

Say Nay to Banding!

Herein lies the predicament.
We are already sequestered behind the wires and walls; what purpose does a wristband really serve?

Who's to say that the wristbands ONLY do what is claimed: track inmate whereabouts via RFID or another technology?

Who's to say that the arm race won't escalate once the bands are on inmates, moving from seemingly passive RFID to NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy or something else? Or monitoring heart rates, looking for hardware, or otherwise increasing our already heightened surveillance?

Being inside, I already hear the waves of rumbles of distant thunder, with people bandying talks about how we should all refuse to wear the wristbands if they come, along with threats of violence to anyone complying with the order to wear a wristband.

That is... silly talk, and there's a reason set.

Reason 1: You on the outside need to talk to Tallahassee, speaking out against these wristbands.

We inside need you outside more than ever. This is where you need to reach out to the Department of Corrections, tell them that the wristbands endanger and aggressively surveil an already sequestered society of men and women.
Florida Cares likely has information on these wristbands, and suggested wording for when you contact FDC to indicate disfavor over new, unsafe hardware requirements, and frivolous expenses when there are better things on which to spend funds.

Reason 2: Contrary to population belief, they CAN lock us all up.

"They can't put us all in jail" is a popular population saying around here.
They forget our 141 hour lockdown just that easily.
You go in your cell, they close the door behind you, and you are stuck. If you try to push out when they roll your door for chow, you can have a free snack of peppers. ...pray.

Reason 3: If you've refused to wear your band and you get locked down, how do you get at people who complied?

Legit, logical question. You refuse your band; you go to confinement until you comply. You get shipped to some other camp and forcibly banded, pushing you into compliance.
Does that mean you have to harm yourself for wearing a band? Or do you get a free pass because you got held down and banded like a bird?

I understand this subject is all over TikTok and other social networking services. Please don't just stand and look at the train wreck -- come help put out the fire and save the passengers that are on this prison train.

Every voice giving Tallahassee grief over this counts, whether you live in Florida or not.

Thanks for your time.

I return to my dreams of making sushi burritos. :)