HAMPTON, Va. — The Hampton Sheriff's Office is testing what you might call twenty first century handcuffs. A little black, electronic box is turning regular handcuffs into biometric handcuffs.
“It’s a device that we add onto our already handcuffs," said Hampton Sheriff's Office Capt. Bionca Moore.
The device allows sheriff’s deputies to monitor the blood pressure, heart rate, and location of the person wearing them. The sheriff's office is the first law enforcement agency in Virginia to test them.
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The company that makes the device reached out to the sheriff’s office to test what the company is calling the Health Realtime Observer system.
According to the company’s website, it’s “an integrated hardware and software platform designed to support real-time awareness and informed decision-making during critical public safety moments."
“If things get unusual for us, we’ll be able to stop and render medical assistance or call for help while we’re out on the road," Moore said. "Even though we’re security minded, we do care about the security of the inmates. So if there’s any tools out there that’s going to help us better protect them, give us the peace of mind, hold us accountable we are into that."
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If there’s a spike in the person’s blood pressure or heart rate, deputies will get an alert on an app.
“I think it’s beneficial, especially on those long trips, those more than an hour or when we’re dealing with mental health transports and things like that," said Moore.
The sheriff’s office is testing two sets of biometric handcuffs. Once the test period is over, the sheriff’s office will have the option to purchase the devices to keep using them.
