JailTracker is an effective program for all jails, whether large or small. Ron Gabbard, the Chief Deputy at Jackson County Detention Center, embraced the program for his thirty-eight bed facility one and a half years ago. Jackson County has the third-oldest jail in Kentucky. The building, constructed in 1873, still has the classic floor-to-ceiling bar design on some cells, while renovated cells now have the steel doors more commonly used in construction. Gabbard had difficulty getting funding from the fiscal court to purchase a program for the small facility, but once it was approved, the jailer proceeded to choose JailTracker.

Jackson County’s previous tracking method was an Excel spreadsheet Gabbard created; JailTracker had no difficulty converting the data to the new program. “It was a lot smoother than what I thought it would be,” says Gabbard. “The transition was flawless.” As with any new program, training for some deputies was easier than for others, but getting everyone switched over was not difficult. Gabbard selected JailTracker over another program due to the ease of operation and functionality of the system. “Everything is right there. It’s not a hard system to learn.” The main feature that drew him in, however, was the technical support. “If I didn’t know anything about it before except for the support, [the decision] would have just been on that alone,” Gabbard praises.

Gabbard enjoys the many conveniences JailTracker offers at a simple mouse-over, particularly the access to medical information. The program holds each inmate’s medical history and medication requirements in case of a medical emergency. Another valuable time-saving feature is the rebook option, which cuts down on data entry for “frequent flyers,” inmates who come in and out often. Staff members simply hit the rebook option and are required to update only medical questions and change of address.

One of Gabbard’s favorite features is the JailTracker website. “It cuts back on a lot of people calling us and saying, ‘Well, is so-and-so in jail? What’s their bond?’ when I can just say go to our website and you can find that.” This feature is especially useful for the news media; they are able to access the website and pull an inmate’s photo for a news story rather than call the jail for information.

JailTracker is useful for all of Gabbard’s staff; the internal e-mailing feature makes it easy to communicate information to other deputies. Gabbard would prefer that the program also send e-mail out, but believes that feature will be integrated in the new version of JailTracker. Gabbard’s brother, another deputy at Jackson County, runs the financial aspect of the jail, and finds JailTracker’s finance program to be top notch. Ron shares, “It takes care of everything: billing for the state, for the doctor, commissary, bonds, booking fees, bond fees, takes care of everything.” Gabbard highly recommends JailTracker to any jail. “I would say it would be the best decision that your county as a fiscal court or your jailer could make. Without a doubt.”