Fond du Lac man’s goal: Altering criminal justice
New tech seeks respect, dignity for clients
FOND DU LAC - On Paul Hyland’s desk, a plaque bears a quote by Abraham Lincoln: “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
To Hyland, Lincoln’s quote is more than just a saying — it’s a way of life enforced by his more than 20 years in the criminal justice system. Now working in the private sector, Hyland hopes to use his experience — and new technology — to decrease the stigma for defendants in the criminal justice system through his business, Justice Support Solutions.
Hyland said his company’s goal is to help clients find dignity and respect in the criminal justice system through the use of new technology such as oral drug screenings and Fitbit-sized GPS monitoring.
States and counties are becoming more receptive to the use of new technologies, such as oral samples, said Bridget Lemberg, lab director/toxicologist at Oral Fluids Laboratories. The company works with the state of Michigan’s Health and Human Services Department as well as more than 10 counties in Wisconsin and 60 counties in Ohio, she said.
Over his career, Hyland cultivated a broad perspective as he worked in the U.S. Marine Corps, juvenile justice, police enforcement, probation and parole, and the Department of Corrections. He said this experience allowed him to consider what could be changed.
While working in probation and parole, he saw the stigma that came with placing a bracelet with a large monitor around someone’s ankle for GPS monitoring. He said clients would try to pull their pant leg down to cover it up.
Tim Hogan, an attorney with Appleton law firm Hogan Eickhoff who has worked with Hyland for two years, said especially for those who have not yet been convicted of a crime, those large ankle bracelets could create the perception among others that the person is a criminal.
Technological game-changers
In the spring of 2019, Hyland opened Justice Support Solutions in downtown Fond du Lac. The business provides services for clients who are participating in court-ordered testing and monitoring during pretrial, post-conviction and while on probation.
From his experience, Hyland said, he knows, in rare cases, someone who comes through his doors may not be guilty, but may have taken probation because they “couldn’t afford any more” — be it in court and lawyer fees, or lost income as a result of jail time.
One of the first areas Hyland addressed when starting his business was drug testing. Through a company called Forensic Fluids Laboratories, Hyland found an oral swab that does the same 10 panels and levels as a urinalysis but does not require a person to be observed while using the bathroom.
“That was a personal game-changer,” he said.
Drugs appear much sooner in saliva than they do in urine, as saliva correlates with the bloodstream, said Lemberg of Oral Fluids Laboratories.
She gave the example of a truck driver who takes drugs at lunch and then gets into a crash. As they were recently ingested, the drugs would not appear in urine, but they would in saliva, she said, as it shows what’s in the brain. Drugs, however, will linger longer in the urine, she said.
When looking for options other than ankle bracelets, Hyland found a small business in Arkansas that makes the Tracking and Accountability Band. Rather than wearing a bulky monitor above their foot, defendants get a band that wraps around the wrist and has the appearance of a Fitbit.
The product’s developer, Kris Keyton, first got the idea for the product when he looked at his iPhone and thought about how, like an ankle bracelet, the phone tracks someone wherever they go. Since the development of an app and Bluetooth-enabled wristband, the product has gained popularity and is being used by 25 law enforcement agencies.
Tracking is done in real time and can be monitored on a cellphone, tablet or computer. The app allows for a law enforcement agency to do so with multiple people at once, simplifying the process.
If someone is not within the boundaries set for them, the agency can immediately reach out to the cellphone and ask the person what is going on, rather than law enforcement having to find them. If someone tries to tamper with the lock or the strap is cut, an alert will be sent for a mandatory video check-in, Keyton said.
Another new technology Hyland’s business uses is a breathalyzer the size of a deck of cards. When working in the Department of Corrections, Hyland used breathalyzers the size of a radar gun. The BACtrack Remote and Alco Supreme fit in someone’s pocket, allowing clients to take a breathalyzer with them to their jobs and do so while speaking with Hyland. As it is connected to a smartphone, results are available immediately through an app.
Knowing not all of his clients have smartphones, Hyland has a stock of them ready to use to ensure accessibility. Through an app, he can control what goes on the phone and internet usage.
Green Lake County Drug Court Coordinator Carrie Nitz began working with Justice Support Systems last year and finds alcohol and GPS monitoring services more accessible than others.
The monitoring — particularly GPS — helps clients make better choices at the beginning of the post-conviction treatment program when they are needing to make adjustments to “people, places and things” that could be harmful to them, and building the self-motivation to do it themselves, Nitz said.
Nitz sees them as helping to reduce stigma — particularly the bracelet, since one cannot tell a person has a monitor on, she said.