Here we go again, a lawmaker who wants to PROTECT the PUBLIC from "Sex Offenders" by TRACKING those offenders. Think about what he is saying, "after the amber alert is issued, we will know who did it" hey isn't that after the crime? So how does TRACKING PROTECT the public from new crimes? It doesn't, TRACKING is NOT PREVENTION!1-22-2010 Oklahoma:
Tracking simply makes the prosecution of crimes easier (i.e., after the crime), but does nothing to protect the public from crimes (before they are committed)! Lawmakers need a course in comprehension.
Oklahoma State Senator Dan Newberry wants level two and three sex offenders in his state to wear electronic tracking devices.
He said his bill filed in the Oklahoma State Senate will better protect citizens from individuals who are most likely to re-offend.
"So many times these folks don't even show up and register, and then we spend lots of dollars trying to find them," Newberry said.
Newberry said his bill would mandate electronic monitoring of level two and three sex offenders. He said the legislation comes in the wake of a 2-year-old Tulsa girl being abducted by a sex offender who completed jail time.
"Police were trying to locate her and happened upon this abandoned truck where they found him and the girl inside of it," Newberry said.
He said the technology would give law enforcement agencies instant access to accurate information.
"So that in the event that another Amber Alert goes out we can look at the computer program and know exactly where they are," Newberry said.
Under the way his bill is currently written, offenders would be required to pay for the tracking device and monthly monitoring service.
Newberry says tracking devices including monitoring service costs about $300 a month.
If the person was unable to pay, Newberry said a sponsor would have to be obtained.
Newberry said the Department of Corrections already has the personnel and computer systems in place to handle the addition of level two and three sex offenders to its monitoring program.
"It could be very helpful," said Clay Thomas, who oversees 85 sex offenders for the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Department.
He said Newberry's legislation could help law enforcement agencies solve crimes faster.
"(It would) tell us where they were at, what time they were there and the exact location," Thomas said.
Thomas said he fears one thing.
"I see it being very costly for us to be able to enforce it," he said.
Newberry said he hopes to have his bill passed out of committee and brought to the Senate floor for a vote by the end of February.
If that happens, the bill would then go to the House for approval. ..Source.. 40-29-TV.com
1 comment:
The primary reason government does most things is simple: because they can. Sex offenders are fair game because they have been vilified to the point of being considered subhuman. You could line them up and shoot them and the public would cheer.
The problem with tracking devices is that it will make sex offenders more likely to be accused of any crime where they happen to be close by. They're easy targets and it's not like there's going to be a public outcry that they are being railroaded.
In any case, it has nothing to do with prevention. It's just grandstanding by a politician to show how tough he is on those less-than-human sex offenders.
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