GPS - Not a Substitute for Jail

[Zac]

Today, one of the most extensive usages of GPS tracking is in law enforcement. Not only is GPS used to aid in the arresting of criminals, GPS trackers also create alternatives to incarceration. But perhaps this is a poor alternative, as many are debating.

The Massachusetts Probation Service has used an electronic monitoring system to keep track of over 1,930 sex offenders, probationers and parolees for the past 10 years. The program reduced overpopulation in jails and “is an effective tool that gives an offender incentive to behave,” praised Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early.

The Middlesex Probation Service monitors the offenders’ movements using real time tracking. If the offender tampers with the device, an alert goes off and an arrest warrant follows automatically.

Once a judge has decided that the offender will wear the bracelet as a term of release, the offender is given a bracelet, a cellphone and a personal tracking unit. The tracking unit serves as the main source, and then the bracelet transmits real-time locations to the satellite through the cellphone. Probation Services can map out specific zones where the offender may or may not go. When terms are violated, alerts are sent by text or phone.

Still, some like Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone say that these bracelets aren’t meant as replacements for incarceration. “When we do ask for a monitoring bracelet, we are under no illusions that it is somehow going to keep people safe from a predator who can do a bad act with it on,” he said. The bracelets are used to record where the criminal has been and essentially are useful after the fact. They cannot effectively prevent a criminal from committing a crime.

On March 18, violent sex offender Brian Addeo on lifetime parole cut his bracelet off and fled to Maine where he was later arrested. Last year, William French, a level 3 sex offender took off his bracelet and raped a woman in her Framingham apartment.

However, most state officials agree that cases where offenders remove their bracelet and commit a crime before the police can catch up are rare. “I’ve held the bracelets myself and have looked at them very closely. It is extraordinarily difficult to even attempt to remove,” said Worcester County Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis.

Leone said cutting off bracelets is becoming more frequent because criminals are sharing the tip with others. He also indicated the flaw that not every monitor has a person following every moment of the day. “To people like myself and the prosecution system, a GPS bracelet is not something that prevents,” said Leone. “Essentially a GPS bracelet allows you to make a case after the fact. And that is why I stress it is not an appropriate substitution for incarceration.”

From: gpstrackinginfo.com

[nancy]

thx for sharing

[Berry lee]

useful information