For domestic violence and sexual assault victims, simply knowing their abuser is being tracked with a GPS bracelet may not be enough.
The SCRAM Ally® Victim Notification mobile app works in conjunction with SCRAM GPS® to notify the victim and supervising authorities when a GPS client is in proximity to the victim’s phone. With the new Pursuit Mode, notifications are sent when a client’s GPS bracelet enters the “victim moving zone”. Now, victims may gain more peace of mind and supervising authorities can have more insight into the movement of their GPS clients.
Tracking More GPS Points with Pursuit Mode
Pursuit Mode is now available for SCRAM Ally (version 2.0.24 and higher), which provides supervising authorities more visibility into the location of a GPS client and the corresponding victim—at the same time.
When the app is in its normal mode, Ally sends a location point from the victim’s phone once every minute. Once Pursuit Mode is activated, both the app and the client’s GPS bracelet send a location point once every 15 seconds, so supervising authorities can track both the victim and client.
Pursuit Mode is beneficial to agents and supervising authorities so they can better manage situations when a GPS client is in proximity to the victim and their set exclusion zones.
How Pursuit Mode Works
Pursuit Mode is started automatically on the SCRAM Ally mobile app and the corresponding GPS device when the following alerts occur:
- Ally Panic Button Pressed. This will activate Pursuit Mode for the victim who pressed the button, as well as all GPS clients associated with the victim.
- Victim Zone Violation. Pursuit Mode will automatically activate for the victim when an exclusion zone was breached and for the GPS client who entered the zone.
With push notifications enabled, the victim and any supervising authorities will be notified of a moving zone violation, in turn triggering the activation of Pursuit Mode.
While using the app, victims will only know their own location, not the location of the corresponding GPS client. So, once Pursuit Mode is activated, victims should consult the safety plan that has been put in place with their supervising authority and/or victim advocate.
Moving Zone Buffer with Notifications
For added security, officers can also add the “Moving (Floating) Zone Buffer” option around a victim’s moving zone. This will generate an alert when the client enters and exits the set buffer zone.
Victims can view their exclusion and buffer zones via the Ally app and notifications about any zone exclusions can be sent to the victim and agents.
Easily Contact Emergency Services in Any Situation
When making a voice 911 call is not possible—for example those with hearing or speech impairments or when a voice call is not ideal—SCRAM Ally also allows victims to text emergency services.
While most counties have a text 911 service available, it is important to confirm this information prior to enabling this service on a victim’s app. Visit the FCC website to confirm the text emergency services available.
