8-20-2010 California:
California Sex Offender Management Board chair Robert Coombs concluded a week-long, voluntarily experiment Thursday that tested the treatment sex offenders get on parole -- 24-hour GPS tracking and a flashy ankle accessory.
The tracking experiment was aimed at exploring what it's like to wear the tracking device used to monitor sex offenders, as well as the capability of the device in crime monitoring. Dogged by parole officer Tae Shin, Coombs wore the GPS device on his ankle for seven days. It buzzed every time he did anything suspicious (causing several awkward moments in public areas).
"There were a number of times I did something I thought was sneaky," Coombs said. "I'd get a text message from Tae right away saying 'Hey, what are you doing with that?'"
Coombs said he was able to remove the device at one point, which also didn't go unnoticed.
But instantaneous, to-the-second tracking -- think "Enemy of the State" -- is not as easy as some might think. Agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation gave a informational presentation to the CSOMB this week, explaining the advantages and limitations of GPS tracking devices in monitoring sex offender activity.
"There are times when we won't be able to specifically say 'my guy is right there, right now,'" parole officer Steve Marshall said at the CSOMB meeting.
Other limitations include weak GPS signal where cell phone coverage is scarce, underwater exposure (no swimming!) and outdated Google and Bing maps. And of course, Coombs could have still committed any number of nefarious crimes while wearing the device.
A presentation analyzing the details of Coomb's experiment -- such as where he went, the treatment he received and any other surprises -- will be held in two months. ..Source.. --Justin Ho in Sacramento
August 20, 2010
GPS technology, full of surprises?
July 17, 2010
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is using GPS tracking to crack down on sex offenders at fairs and events statewide.
GPS Effective? It looks like GPS is a VERY costly failure. Last year 30 caught, five at state fairs, and no crimes committed nor did GPS prevent any. "last position..." which means it isn't real time, its delayed real time. Effective? 7,000/30 =.4% possible recidivists, and the cost of parole agents to monitor and answer MANY false alarms is? No wonder California is BROKE!7-17-2010 California:
As part of a sex offender’s parole agreement, there are certain places they can’t go. Places like the state fair, where there are lots of families with children.
To make sure that rule isn’t broken, seven-thousand California sex offenders have to wear gps ankle bracelets at all times. So for the next few months, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parole officers are setting up laptops in their cars and monitoring more than a dozen events statewide.
“This is a screen and what it’s going to display is where this individual’s at.”
Parole Agent Lou Anne Fischer set up her computer at the state fair on opening day. Her screen shows a map with a little red arrow pointing to a sex offenders location, and where he’s headed. The idea is to get to them as quickly as possible.
“He’s going approximately 21 mph and that was his last position at 3:30 today.”
That particular offender was traveling in a car, passing by the fairgrounds. State parole administrator Marvin Speed says false alarms like that aren’t uncommon.
“You’re going to get some drifts, you’re going to get some false positives if you will, but that’s part of the process and you do have to track those down. We don’t want to ignore any alert or alarm because it may be real.”
Speed says once an offender enters the grounds, it can take up to 20 minutes to find them.
“If there’s a large crowd, sometimes it’s hard to find the individual but we know they’re still in the zone, we know they’re on fairgrounds, we know approximately where they are.”
Last year, 35 offenders were caught state wide. At the state fair alone, there were 30 notifications, and five arrests. In Sacramento, I’m Ida Lieszkovszky. ..Source.. by Capitol Public Radio
April 22, 2010
Lifetime GPS under Chelsea's Law mainly targets lewd acts
All I can say is, proof that lawmaker logic is sorely lacking! Article also shows some of the monetary costs of this FLAWED law!4-22-2010 California:
San Diego, Calif. (CBS 8) - For the first time, we are seeing some hard numbers on the estimated costs associated with Chelsea's Law.
A News 8 investigation discovered -- when it comes to the costs of lifetime parole and GPS monitoring requirements in the bill – most of the money would be spent on sex offenders with lewd act convictions.
It will take at least a month before a full cost analysis will be completed on the entirety of Chelsea's Law, a bill named after murdered Poway teenager Chelsea King.
In addition to the lifetime parole and GPS provisions, Chelsea's Law would also mandate one-strike, life without parole sentences for the most violent sex offenders, and prohibit sex offenders from visiting parks where children gather.
The lifetime GPS and parole requirements apply to offenders with less serious sex crime convictions.
"Chelsea's Law – AB 1844 – provides for lifetime parole for sex offenses against children under the age of 14," the bill's sponsor Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher said in Sacramento this week. Chelsea's Law passed the Assembly's public safety committee Tuesday.
Fletcher -- a Republican up for reelection this year -- says the money to pay for Chelsea's Law will come from state spending cuts.
"I believe we have enough money in the state of California to pay for this, and it has to be our highest priority," Fletcher said. "I also believe we have money in the current budget to pay for it."
In numerous public statements across the state, Assemblyman Fletcher has said Chelsea's Law would focus on the most violent sex offenders, "the worst of the worst," like serial killer John Gardner. Gardner pleaded guilty April 16th to raping and killing both Chelsea King and Escondido teenager Amber Dubois and faces life in prison.
It is important to show that, John Gardner -before he committed the murders- WAS NOT considered "the worst of the worst," (various state agencies allowed him to be released) therefore the very premise of this new law is FLAWED to start with. This is proof that lawmakers cannot or refuse to analyze past crimes to see if what they propose will solve the issue.
"We've written a narrow bill that is focused on the most dangerous," Fletcher told reporters Tuesday.
Opponents apparently agree on that point, the worst of the worst need to be targeted.
"Really limited resources have to be focused on the offenders who pose the greatest risk," California Public Defenders Association representative Liberty Sanchez told the public safety committee in Sacramento.
News 8 asked the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to run the numbers for sex offender parolees who would qualify for lifetime GPS monitoring if Chelsea's Law was in effect.
In calendar year 2009, the data show 455 new parolees who committed violent sex acts against children under age 14 would qualify for lifetime GPS if Chelsea's Law had been in place.
During the same year, 1,522 new parolees who committed less serious lewd acts under state penal code 288(a), would also be subject to lifetime GPS under the proposed law.
Those lewd acts include crimes with no substantial sexual contact and even consensual sex acts between teenagers.
Asked whether he believes people with lewd act convictions represent the worst of the worst and the most dangerous offenders, Fletcher responded, "I think somebody who commits a lewd act on a victim under the age of 14 is someone we ought to have great concern over."
The exact costs of lifetime GPS for sex offenders are difficult to estimate because Chelsea's Law would not be retroactive. Added costs only kick in years later, after inmates serve their prison terms and complete at least three years of parole, which is already funded under current law.
However, using last year's numbers, if Chelsea's Law had been in full force, 1,977 sex offenders would have qualified for lifetime GPS and parole at an estimated cost of $14.4 million, according to the CDCR data.
The costs would continue to grow in subsequent years. Using the same numbers, the second year would include 3,954 sex offenders on lifetime GPS at a cost of $28.9 million; the third year would include 5,931 offenders at a cost of $43.3 million; and so on.
The costs go up year after year in similar fashion until the paroled sex offenders finally get older and start do die off. The estimated figures include the costs of parole agents.
For now, Assemblyman Fletcher says the specific lifetime GPS and parole requirements are not set in stone and continue to be a work in progress.
"This is an area we're looking at. So, it's open for further refinement as we go forward," Fletcher said.
News 8's estimates do not include added prison costs, which will accumulate as more and more offenders are sentenced to life terms under the "one strike" provisions of Chelsea's Law.
A total cost estimate is expected from the state Assembly appropriations committee by the end of May. ..Source.. 760AM Talk Radio
Sex offender back in jail; girl allegedly molested
Assuming this man is guilty, and that this is not a false accusation, we again prove TRACKING does not PREVENT crimes, and the DOC even agrees. AT best GPS aides the prosecutor in prosecuting a crime. QUESTION: Given that simple logic, how is the public protected by the use of GPS? TRACKING does not provide the public with any safety as claimed by the politicians.4-22-2010 California:
FONTANA - A convicted sex offender wearing a state-issued GPS monitoring device allegedly molested an 11-year-old girl on Tuesday, police said.
Jason Olivas, 40, was arrested by Fontana police and booked into jail on suspicion of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker said the man was wearing the GPS device because he is a convicted sex offender.
"I don't know if we found him from the device or other leads," Decker said.
Police received a call about 5:30 p.m. from a resident who reported the Fontana girl had been molested.
The GPS device device keeps tabs on state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sex offenders. While useful to law enforcement, GPS tracking has its limitations.
"It can't tell us what they're doing," department press secretary Gordon Hinkle said. "It can't predict crimes or prevent them from happening." ..Source.. Melissa Pinion-Whitt and Jannise Johnson, Staff Writers
April 9, 2010
High court hears arguments in GPS sex offender case
4-9-2010 Massachusetts:
BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - The state's highest court heard arguments today in a case that could decide whether judges have the ability to force convicted sex offenders to wear GPS bracelets.
The sex offender at the center of today’s hearing was the subject of a FOX Undercover report earlier this week. The mother of his victim, who was 7-years old when he was kidnapped and raped, told FOX Undercover that she fears another child will be molested without closer scrutiny of him.
Ralph Goodwin, a Level 3 sex offender, is not wearing a GPS bracelet now as he walks around his Lowell neighborhood filled with children. He lives across the street from a playground.
He was released last year after spending nearly 20 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in 1990 to luring his victim away with a game of hide-and-seek, then raping him repeatedly throughout the night. The following morning he put the boy in a cardboard box, carried him outside and left him on a street corner so a cab he called would pick the boy up and take him home. Before going to prison, he was investigated for allegedly molesting five other children in 1980s.
FOX Undercover caught up with Goodwin as he left his apartment.
“Do you think you should be monitored by GPS, sir?,” FOX Undercover reporter Mike Beaudet asked him.
“No, I don't,” he replied.
“Do you still have urges to molest children?” Beaudet asked.
“I don't molest children,” Goodwin replied.
“Are you dangerous?” Beaudet asked.
“No, I'm not. Please leave me alone,” Goodwin said.
Before today’s hearing, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office tried to get a Superior Court judge to put a GPS bracelet on Goodwin, but the judge, Kathe Tuttman, refused, claiming her hands were tied. She cited a ruling from the state's highest court last year, which stated the 2006 law requiring sex offenders on probation to wear GPS devices cannot be applied to sex offenders convicted before the law passed.
But the victim’s mother told FOX Undercover that the judge made a bad decision letting Goodwin out without a GPS device.
“He should have had it on there. The day he got out of prison. The day he got out,” she said.
Now the DA’s office is trying again to have a GPS device put on Goodwin, arguing before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today that judges do have discretion to order GPS monitoring in cases like Goodwin’s.
The state’s public defenders, representing Goodwin, say he should not have to wear a GPS bracelet because it would be a burden on his liberty and privacy.
During the hearing, Justice Judith Cowin asked why a tracking device shouldn’t be put on Goodwin since his freedom is already limited by his having to report to a probation office every day.
“So why couldn't wearing a GPS bracelet be part of intensive supervision as the sentencing judge ordered?,” Cowin asked.
“Because (of) the intensive supervision that's in place now. He's compliant with. It's working,” replied Goodwin’s attorney, Beth L. Eisenberg.
The SJC is expected to issue a written decision within 130 days. ..Source.. FOX Undercover
April 3, 2010
Judge Calls Electronic Monitoring Excessive Bail in Child Pornography Case
4-3-2010 New York:
Eastern District of New York Judge Jack B. Weinstein has held unconstitutional the electronic monitoring of a Brooklyn pizzeria owner awaiting retrial on child pornography charges.
The judge found that the monitoring, mandated by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, constitutes unconstitutionally excessive bail and violates defendant Peter Polouizzi's procedural due process rights.
"The basic defect of the Adam Walsh Act, as applied, is that it imposes a mandatory limit on freedom of an accused without permitting an 'adversary hearing,'" Weinstein held in United States v. Polouizzi (Polizzi), 06-cr-22.
"Required wearing of an electronic bracelet, every minute of every day, with the government capable of tracking a person not yet convicted as if he were a feral animal would be considered a serious limitation on freedom by most liberty-loving Americans."
Weinstein's opinion marks yet another setback for the government in its prosecution of Polouizzi, who has admitted collecting thousands of images of child pornography. Polouizzi claims he downloaded the photos in the hope of saving the children or perhaps of finding evidence of the brutal rapes he endured as a child.
Since a jury rejected Polouizzi's insanity defense in October 2007 and convicted him of 23 counts of receiving and possessing child pornography, Weinstein has twice ordered the case to be retried. The first order was reversed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; the second order is on appeal.
After the government filed its most recent appeal, Polouizzi's counsel, Mitchell J. Dinnerstein, contested the conditions of his bail.
Wednesday, Judge Weinstein ordered the discontinuation of the electronic monitoring, finding that it violated both the Eighth Amendment prohibition against excessive bail and the Fifth Amendment right to procedural due process. The judge cited more than half a dozen decisions finding the Adam Walsh Act, which imposes electronic monitoring without discretion, unconstitutional in cases where flight or safety are not at issue.
"Electronic monitoring devices that inhibit straying beyond spatial home property limits, like those used to restrain pet dogs, are intrusive. Their requirement, when mandated and unnecessary, may constitute excessive bail in particular cases," Weinstein wrote.
"In the instant case there is no statistical foundation for a finding of risk. And the particularized individual clinical and experiential factors suggest no danger that this defendant requires a tracking electronic bracelet to protect the children or public. For the purposes of constitutional assessment, no reasonable risk assessment warrants application of the Adam Walsh Act to this defendant at this time."
Enacted in 2006, the act revised registration requirements for and other rules regarding sex offenders. The law was named after a 6-year-old boy who was abducted from a Florida mall in 1981 and later murdered. Adam's father, John Walsh, is the host of TV's long-running "America's Most Wanted."
Polouizzi's attorney, Dinnerstein, said he was pleased with the decision, but that he still intends to seek relief from the amount of the bail, which was set at $1 million.
Allen Lee Bode appeared on behalf of the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office. An office spokesman declined to comment. ..Source.. Mark Fass, New York Law Journal
GPS ankle bracelet designed for real-time sex offender tracking
Here we have a vendor who is misleading the public, in that, he sells his product under the premise that all sex crimes are committed in places that can be protected. i.e., such as a park, school, etc. Electronic fences can be programmed around such places, but cannot be programmed to cover every bedroom of every child in the nation. i.e., Jessica Lunsford crime. And, cannot be programmed to follow children home from school. i.e., Sarah Foxwell crime. Simply stated, whether a GPS system is real time or not, does not address the real circumstances of sex crimes, or other crimes.4-3-2010 California:
The murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King, allegedly by a registered sex offender, has generated calls for tougher laws dealing with convicted criminals.
One change being discussed is real-time GPS monitoring for sex offenders. A company called GPS Monitoring Solutions says it’s come up with a device.
It’s called the Tracker Pal, and if a sexual offender wearing this GPS device goes near a park or a school.
Petra Fuhriman with GPS Monitoring Solutions says her product comes equipped with straps that can’t be cut.
On Wednesday, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher asked the corrections department about a discrepancy that prohibits a sexual offender on parole from living near a park, yet nothing stops that predator from hanging out in the same park every day.
Crime victim advocate Bonnie Russel attended that meeting.
“My definition of monitoring would be 24/7. Apparently the state has a substandard definition of monitoring,” Russel said.
News 8 took the Tracker Pal for a walk, and as we moved away from a local park, blue dots on a GPS tracking screen showed us moving away from children.
Under the current system, parole officers in the state of California are checking up on sexual offenders once a day, but using the Tracker Pal system, there is a service center in Utah that would follow their movements every five minutes.
With the Tracker Pal, if a sex offender wearing their GPS device gets too close to a restricted area, an alarm sounds.
“A siren can go off on the alarm, alerting everyone around the offender,” Fuhriman said.
News 8 tested the device, and not only did the alarm go off, but the service center calls us directly and will notify a parole officer about the violation.
The corrections department spends about $20 a day tracking parolees. GPS Monitoring Solutions says it can do a much better job for $12 a day. ..Source.. GPS Monitoring Solutions
March 19, 2010
GPS monitoring of sex offenders is useful, but limited, experts say: 'It can't tell you what they're doing'
This is the best article on GPS and shows it CANNOT PREVENT crimes. Jessica's law author clearly sold the public a bill of good to get this passed, especially expecting local police departments to pay for, monitor offenders -no longer on supervision- using GPS units. Forgetting about the costs, that cannot be done when folks are no longer under state supervision; Runner never explained this beforehand.3-18-2010 California:
California voters in 2006 overwhelmingly approved Jessica's Law, which mandated that the state's sex offenders be monitored for life with a GPS unit.
With a GPS, or Global Positioning System, unit strapped to every sex offender's ankle, police would be able to look at a computer and see exactly where these potentially dangerous individuals were at all times.
But more than three years after the law's passage, only a fraction of the state's registered sex offenders wear a GPS unit, which uses satellites to pinpoint a person's location. In San Diego County, only those on parole and a handful of high-risk probationers have them.
John Albert Gardner III, the registered sex offender who is accused of killing 17-year-old Chelsea King and is a suspect in the death of 14-year-old Amber Dubois, wore a GPS ankle bracelet for the last year of his parole, from September 2007 to September 2008, California Department of Corrections records show.
He served five years in prison for a 2000 assault on a 13-year-old girl in Rancho Bernardo.
It's unknown how the GPS influenced his behavior during that period, or how it enhanced his supervision, though records show his parole agent warned him four times he was letting the unit's battery get too low.
Probation and parole officials say GPS is a useful tool, but it's not a guaranteed deterrent for sex offenders.
"GPS can tell you where someone has been and where they are, but it can't tell you what they're doing," California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Gordon Hinkle said.
Most experts agree a GPS device is best used as part of a larger treatment and tracking plan. Some worry that overemphasizing the role of the GPS unit creates a false public belief that a complex problem can be solved with a piece of technology.
"We're concerned about using GPS to the exclusion of everything else; we're concerned about saying, 'GPS is the answer,'" said Jack Wallace, a spokesman for the California Sex Offender Management Board, which advises the government and Legislature on sex offender policy.
How it's used
In San Diego County, all registered sex offenders who are on parole wear a GPS ankle bracelet. At last count in January, parole officers statewide supervised 6,988 parolees with GPS, Hinkle said.
The offenders are monitored at two levels, based on the risks they pose.
Parole agents monitor 2,192 of the offenders "actively," following a parolee's whereabouts in real time on a computer map several times throughout the day while also scrutinizing their tracks, Hinkle said.
Some 4,796 parolees deemed a lower risk are monitored "passively," with agents checking them by computer a couple of times a day, he said.
Each GPS unit costs about $1,500, or about $10.5 million for the state's nearly 7,000 units, and $6 a day after that, or about $15.3 million for annual monitoring cost, Hinkle said.
The GPS computer tracking software can be programmed with prohibited zones according to the terms of each offender's parole. Agents can receive alerts if a parolee enters a prohibited area, such as a victim's neighborhood. That kind of movement would cause a parole agent to call local police and immediately check on the sex offender, Hinkle said.
Each parole agent gets a daily report letting him know whether a parolee is keeping his GPS unit charged.
Letting a GPS unit go dead or removing it is a serious violation, which probably would prompt a parole revocation hearing, Hinkle said.
Gardner let unit run low
But letting a battery get low, as Gardner did four times, doesn't kill the GPS or prevent monitoring. That violation would usually prompt a warning, as it did in Gardner's case, Hinkle said.
Gardner's parole terms banned him from contact with people under 18. His GPS tracking would not show whether he was complying with that, or similar orders.
The San Diego County Probation Department supervises 484 people on probation for a sex crime, officials said. Of those, 15 deemed at high risk of reoffending violently are equipped with one of the department's 20 GPS units, which were purchased in 2005 through a grant, department spokesman Derryl Acosta said.
Soon, 20 more high-risk sex offenders will get GPS units through a federal stimulus grant, Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins said.
Jenkins said one of the benefits of GPS monitoring is it provides information about where sex offenders spend their days. With that knowledge, probation officers can conduct better interviews, test a probationer's truthfulness and make surprise visits.
"It's definitely a useful tool, but we keep it in the context of being just that," Jenkins said.
Lifetime monitoring unlikely
Jessica's Law author Sen. George Runner, R-Antelope Valley, told the state's Sex Offender Management Board in 2007 that the lifetime GPS monitoring provision was intended to apply to people paroled after the law passed, with local police taking over the responsibility for buying and monitoring the technology, according to a press release from Runner's office.
However, virtually no local police force in California monitors its registered sex offenders with GPS once they are released from parole, according to a January report from the California Sex Offender Management Board.
Wallace, the body's spokesman, said cost is one hurdle to local governments taking over the monitoring.
Also, he said, Jessica's Law does not provide any penalties for sex offenders who won't comply with the GPS requirement after they leave parole or probation.
"There's nothing in the law that says if I cut that GPS off and hand it back to you that there's a penalty attached, nothing that says there's a penalty for, say, not charging it," Wallace said.
Runner has said one of the main reasons for using GPS for sex offenders is the technology's deterrent effect. Because its use is relatively new, with California leading the country in the number of sex offenders monitored by GPS, reliable studies about its deterrent effects are few, Wallace said.
However, a few good studies indicate that sex offenders on GPS are indeed less likely to reoffend than those who aren't, he said.
Wallace noted that even if all known sex offenders were on GPS, unidentified and nonpredatory sex offenders would still find victims.
About 85 percent of sex crimes in the U.S. each year are committed by someone who is not a registered sex offender at the time, he said.
Because GPS monitoring is expensive, and most effective when used with other monitoring and treatment, the Sex Offender Management Board's recent report recommends it for some, but not all offenders, depending on their risk.
"What is going to provide the best community safety? Is it having some portion of your police force looking at tracks of a sex offender who maybe hasn't committed a sex offense for 30 years, or is it having those police on the streets?" Wallace said. ..Source.. SARAH GORDON
March 6, 2010
Sex-offender monitoring OK'd
This is clearly -as applied to folks whose judgments have already been entered- an ex post facto violation, anyone who thinks otherwise is just kidding themselves. In court -under those circumstances- this will go down like the Hindenberg. Each lawmaker who voted for it should be made to pay the legal costs to defend it. In other states similar laws have been held to be ex post facto violations.3-6-2010 Oklahoma:
The Senate bill would force some of them to wear electronic trackers after their release.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The state Senate passed a measure Wednesday that would require some sex offenders to wear electronic monitors after their release.
Senate Bill 2301 by Sen. Dan Newberry, R-Tulsa, passed by a vote of 37-4 after a lengthy debate. It now heads to the House.
The proposed law would require sex offenders who have completed their sentences but are considered Level 2 offenders to wear a monitoring device for 10 years, Newberry said.
Level 2 offenders include those convicted of facilitating, encouraging or offering sexual conduct with a minor or producing a child younger than 18 for prostitution.
The measure would require Level 3 sex offenders — those convicted of rape, forcible sodomy or incest — to wear the device for 15 years after their release.
The offender would be charged $75 a year to pay for the monitoring. The bill exempts indigent offenders from paying the fee.
After the monitoring period is completed without further legal troubles, a sex offender could petition a court to have the device removed, Newberry said.
Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, who voted against the bill, said it seems that lawmakers are always passing legislation to make them appear tough on crime.
A vote against such a measure will be used against a lawmaker in the next re-election campaign, he said.
But "what does it do to stop people from reoffending?" Lerblance asked, adding that an electronic monitor won't protect someone from falling victim to a sex offender.
Newberry argued in response that an electronic monitor would reduce a sex offender's propensity to reoffend.
Sen. Steven Russell, R-Oklahoma City, voted for the bill but questioned whether it would violate the U.S. Constitution by imposing a punishment retroactively.
Newberry said the bill would make changes to the sex-offenderregistration statute. It would not resentence the offender, he said. ..Source.. BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
March 2, 2010
Offender tracking with GPS has flaws
3-2-2010 Massachusetts:
Devices don’t stop crime, survey says
Over the past five years, as technology has provided judges new sentencing options, the number of convicts in Massachusetts ordered to wear monitoring devices using a global positioning system has risen to more than 1,000, many of whom might otherwise be serving time behind bars.
The increasing number wearing such electronic ankle bracelets has saved the state money by reducing the need to feed and house them in prisons, but recent events underscore how the GPS tracking devices remain an imperfect substitute for incarceration. They allow authorities to monitor an offender’s whereabouts, but they do not prevent crime, especially when their plastic straps can be removed with a few snips of a scissors.
The risks of relying on electronic monitoring were demonstrated Feb. 18, when police arrested William French, 29, a convicted rapist from Framingham, a few hours after he cut off his ankle bracelet, which a judge ordered him to wear after finding that he had violated his probation.
French, released from prison in December after serving eight years for a 2001 rape, allegedly raped another woman in the hours he was a fugitive.
French’s arrest and similar cases have raised questions about the effectiveness of GPS monitoring, which relies on satellites to track an offender’s location. By last week, 1,019 state offenders were wearing GPS devices, and another 735 offenders were using a radio frequency device that tracks when they leave their homes.
“We can’t protect anyone’s safety,’’ said Paul Lucci, deputy commissioner of the state Office of the Commissioner of Probation, who oversees its electronic monitoring program. “It’s impossible to prevent those wearing GPS devices from committing a crime. . . . There are no guarantees whatsoever.’’
Since the technology came into wide use over the past decade - thousands of offenders are now tracked by GPS nationwide - a series of studies has raised questions about whether the devices reduce recidivism.
Nationally, more than 12,600 offenders were tracked by GPS in 2008, nearly 8,000 of whom were sex offenders, according to the most recent data available from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Probation and Parole, 2008)
A review of that DOJ study, Tables 11 (Probation) and 22 (Parole) which show overall use of GPS and portion of it which is used for sex offenders, 68% of GPS used nationally is for tracking Sex Offenders. Further, the article admits GPS Will Not Prevent Crimes, so why the waste of taxpayer money?
Roxanne Lieb - director of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, which monitors correctional policies around the country - said a survey of a dozen studies on the effectiveness of electronic monitoring shows that the devices do not blunt violence.
“The conclusion is that we don’t see a crime reduction,’’ Lieb said. “The question is whether this is the best route for offenders on parole or probation. We need more evidence.’’
Marc Renzema, who founded the New Jersey-based Journal of Offender Monitoring and now teaches criminal justice at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, argued that judges and law enforcement officials must improve how they select candidates for electronic monitoring.
“These devices aren’t a ball and chain; they’re not prison,’’ he said. “They won’t rehabilitate people magically, but if you pick people reasonably, they can be effective.’’
In a recent journal article he wrote titled “Rationalizing the Use of Electronic Monitoring,’’ Renzema said electronic tracking works best for those who are rational enough to understand the penalties of removing their devices, an action that violates the law and immediately alerts officials.
Renzema added that the devices have the ability to help offenders steer clear of trouble by monitoring whether they attend their rehabilitation programs and medical appointments.
He pointed to a three-year study of 260 offenders published in Sweden last year that showed promise for electronic monitoring to reduce recidivism. The study found that electronically monitored offenders deemed less likely to commit new crimes did so 10 percent of the time, compared with 24 percent of the time for a similar group that was not tracked electronically.
The benefits of electronic monitoring dropped for offenders deemed more likely to commit new crimes: The study found that 44 percent of higher-risk offenders monitored electronically committed new crimes, while 49 percent not wearing a tracking device committed new crimes.
“The problem is that there aren’t enough prison cells, so we need [to] improve who we select for electronic monitoring,’’ said Renzema.
Massachusetts began using GPS to track offenders after Michael J. Bizanowicz, a sex offender, was convicted of killing a Woburn woman and her 12-year-old daughter in 2004. Bizanowicz was registered in Lowell, but spent much of his time in Woburn.
In 1997, Florida became the first state to track sex offenders with GPS devices. Since then, electronic monitoring of offenders has been adopted in more than 30 states. In Massachusetts, it has expanded to include domestic abusers and stalkers who have violated protection orders.
The devices use cellphones to relay a positioning signal to 24 satellites and back to offices in Boston, Clinton, and Springfield. If an offender enters a restricted area, warnings flash on the computers of some 40 technicians around the state monitoring the offenders’ movements. The bracelets also alert officials if they are cut and when their batteries die.
In the case of William French, who had his bail reduced to $100,000 at a hearing in Framingham District Court last week, Lucci said authorities obtained a probation violation warrant for his arrest within 20 minutes after he cut off the tracking device.
French will remain in jail until at least April 9, when he is scheduled to return to court.
French’s arrest followed a similarly brief disappearance this month of Leeland Eisenberg, a New Hampshire man who was being tracked electronically after he took hostages at a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign office in 2007. Authorities found him a day after he cut off his ankle bracelet.
In some cases, offenders being tracked did not remove their devices before committing new crimes. Last year, authorities accused Darrin Sanford, 30, a homeless sex offender monitored electronically, of killing 13-year-old girl Alycia Nipp in Vancouver, Wash. Investigators used his location history to identify him as a suspect.
In Middlesex County, prosecutors acknowledged the limited capability of electronic tracking to prevent crimes.
“GPS monitoring is an important probationary tool, but one that must be assessed on a case-by-case basis and not as an appropriate substitute for incarceration,’’ District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said in a statement. ..Source.. David Abel
February 23, 2010
Pointing out misleading information in the media, in Oklahoma.
2-23-2010 Oklahoma:
In Oklahoma Sen. Newberry's bill SB-2301, pushes for a new law to force ALL level II-III registered sex offenders to wear GPS units for their entire time on the registry, if the full legislature approves such.
To understand the misconstruction I am pointing out you must first watch this video, Sen Newberry appears at approx 2:35 minutes: CLICK for video.
Did you notice what he said "Sex Offenders are put on the streets on a Honor System." Thats not true, they are released from jails and prisons AFTER they complete their sentences, OR, they are released on probation. There is no honor system, its the law to release them for either of those reasons.
Playing devils advocate, possibly he means, the ones that do not register. Maybe his Honor System is referring to the other law requiring them to register. But again, his bill does not target those who do not register, it targets every single level II-II on the registry.
Therein folks is his misconstruction, he implies those who do not register, but his bill targets every registered level II-II offender. Why? What have they done? Or, what other reason is there, we know of none!
Further proof that he implies "those who do not register" can be found by reviewing what the reporters say and the policeman who appears in the video.
What purpose does it serve to mislead the public?
We strongly suggest, that if you live in Oklahoma, you should be contacting your legislator and asking why this video shows you are being mislead as to the real purpose of Sen. Newberry's bill? And, why is the bill needed at all?
eAdvocate
PS: Other considerations regarding this bill:
A similar GPS bill in Massachusetts -also applied retroactively as Newberry's bill is- was declared unconstitutional because it was considered punitive and violated the ex post facto clauses. See Commonwealth -v- Cory and the news item following it.
Here we have a lawmaker who is not dealing with reality. First, every GPS vendor will tell you that, GPS DOES NOT PREVENT CRIME! Gps merely keeps track of where the wearer goes, and either -real time- or -at the end of the day- tells the state where the wearer has gone.
Secondly he says, 80% are employed, however that doesn't mean they can afford -what amounts to- another rent for the month, most registrants are barely paying their bills. If the state wants it, the state is going to pay its that simple. Face reality, and what about the 20% (his figure) that already we know cannot pay? (6,300 X 20% = $302,400 a month -OR- $3.6 million a year) Where will that come from?
Finally, with the above known what are the benefits of having them wear GPS units, the lawmaker is silent on this point. Folks, its time to face reality, lawmakers are not dealing straight up on many of these sex offender issues, they seem to have some other personal agenda, public safety is a pretext for it. Where have analytical skills gone? Folks need to contact him and ask for some fiscal responsibility here.
February 19, 2010
Newberry's sex offender bill moving forward
A similar GPS bill in Massachusetts -also applied retroactively as Newberry's bill is- was declared unconstitutional because it was considered punitive and violated the ex post facto clauses. See Commonwealth -v- Cory and the news item following it.2-19-2010 Oklahoma:
Here we have a lawmaker who is not dealing with reality. First, every GPS vendor will tell you that, GPS DOES NOT PREVENT CRIME! Gps merely keeps track of where the wearer goes, and either -real time- or -at the end of the day- tells the state where the wearer has gone.
Secondly he says, 80% are employed, however that doesn't mean they can afford -what amounts to- another rent for the month, most registrants are barely paying their bills. If the state wants it, the state is going to pay its that simple. Face reality, and what about the 20% (his figure) that already we know cannot pay? (6,300 X 20% = $302,400 a month -OR- $3.6 million a year) Where will that come from?
Finally, with the above known what are the benefits of having them wear GPS units, the lawmaker is silent on this point. Folks, its time to face reality, lawmakers are not dealing straight up on many of these sex offender issues, they seem to have some other personal agenda, public safety is a pretext for it. Where have analytical skills gone? Folks need to contact him and ask for some fiscal responsibility here.
UPDATE:
Apparently Rep. Richard Morrissette is opposed to this bill. What folks need to do is to e-mail him with a few SHORT paragraphs as to why this is absurd (see a few reasons above). His e-mail address and phone numbers are found in the link to his office above. This is an ACTION ALERT issue!
A proposal by state Sen. Dan Newberry (R-Tulsa) to track all level 2 and 3 sex offenders is making progress.
The bill, first reported in the Jenks Journal, would require all level 2 and 3 sex offenders to wear a monitoring bracelet with a GPS tracker.
Newberry, speaking at the monthly Eggs over Issues meeting in Jenks, said the measure has been tweaked to require that all level 2 sex offenders wear the bracelet for 10 years and level 3 offenders for 15 years. If the offender follows the parameters of their probation, the bracelet will be removed after 10 years.
Newberry said there are approximately 6,300 level 2 and 3 sex offenders currently living in Oklahoma.
In the face of a tough budget, many in attendance at the meeting questioned the financing of the bracelets.
Newberry said the sex offender would be required to pay for the tracker at a cost of $6 to $8 a day. He said studies have shown 80 percent of sex offenders in the state are employed. ..Source.. Josh Driskell, News Editor
February 18, 2010
Newberry's sex offender bill moving forward
Here we have a lawmaker who is not dealing with reality. First, every GPS vendor will tell you that, GPS DOES NOT PREVENT CRIME! Gps merely keeps track of where the wearer goes, and either -real time- or -at the end of the day- tells the state where the wearer has gone.2-18-2010 Oklahoma:
Secondly he says, 80% are employed, however that doesn't mean they can afford -what amounts to- another rent for the month, most registrants are barely paying their bills. If the state wants it, the state is going to pay its that simple. Face reality, and what about the 20% (his figure) that already we know cannot pay? (6,300 X 20% = $302,400 a month -OR- $3.6 million a year) Where will that come from?
Finally, with the above known what are the benefits of having them wear GPS units, the lawmaker is silent on this point. Folks, its time to face reality, lawmakers are not dealing straight up on many of these sex offender issues, they seem to have some other personal agenda, public safety is a pretext for it. Where have analytical skills gone? Folks need to contact him and ask for some fiscal responsibility here.
UPDATE:
Apparently Rep. Richard Morrissette is opposed to this bill. What folks need to do is to e-mail him with a few SHORT paragraphs as to why this is absurd (see a few reasons above). His e-mail address and phone numbers are found in the link to his office above. This is an ACTION ALERT issue!
A proposal by state Sen. Dan Newberry (R-Tulsa) to track all level 2 and 3 sex offenders is making progress.
The bill, first reported in the Jenks Journal, would require all level 2 and 3 sex offenders to wear a monitoring bracelet with a GPS tracker.
Newberry, speaking at the monthly Eggs over Issues meeting in Jenks, said the measure has been tweaked to require that all level 2 sex offenders wear the bracelet for 10 years and level 3 offenders for 15 years. If the offender follows the parameters of their probation, the bracelet will be removed after 10 years.
Newberry said there are approximately 6,300 level 2 and 3 sex offenders currently living in Oklahoma.
In the face of a tough budget, many in attendance at the meeting questioned the financing of the bracelets.
Newberry said the sex offender would be required to pay for the tracker at a cost of $6 to $8 a day. He said studies have shown 80 percent of sex offenders in the state are employed.
The second-year senator also updated the dozen people in attendance on other legislation in the Senate.
He said a senate subcommittee passed a measure that would allow cities and counties to work together on road projects. ..Source.. Josh Driskell, News Editor
January 22, 2010
Lawmaker Wants Sex Offenders To Wear Tracking Devices
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
January 8, 2010
Delayed text messages left sexual predator free to roam for hours in Tampa case
Absolute proof that ACTIVE GPS units WILL NOT PREVENT crimes! Why is Pro-Tech using TEXT-MESSAGES rather than a live phone call esp. under these circumstances (multiple alerts same offender)?1-8-2010 Florida:
TAMPA — Things might have turned out differently if two text messages had reached their target on time early Friday morning.
But an unexplained four-hour delay gave registered sex predator Tommy Lee Sailor enough time to go to a bar, meet a woman, party with her, bring her home and try to rape her, officials say.
Around 12:15 a.m. Friday, the company hired by the state to track violent offenders got notice that something was not as it should be with Sailor.
Either the 37-year-old's GPS monitoring device had been removed from his ankle, or he had traveled too far from home. Or maybe there was an easily explained technical failure — most alerts like this are.
The call center at Odessa-based Pro Tech Monitoring sent text messages to Sailor's on-call probation officer, Pam Crompton. When contacted by a reporter, Crompton referred all questions about what happened to the Florida Department of Corrections.
One text message, called an "alarm," went out to Crompton at 12:44 a.m., Corrections Department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.
Another flew at 1:57 a.m.
Crompton heard nothing, Plessinger said.
Hours passed.
The call center tried to reach Sailor through his monitoring device, but the offender didn't respond.
Police say that's because Sailor was at Tilley's Place, a bar in Tampa, until last call, about 2:45 a.m.
He left with a woman, headed to two house parties, then, at 4 a.m., brought her to his house, where, police say, he sexually battered her, holding a screwdriver to her throat and telling her he was a "serial rapist."
The victim secretly alerted 911 at 4:27 a.m. and dropped her cell phone on the floor. A 911 dispatcher tracked the phone signal to her location, and police arrived at 4:44 a.m. Only then did Crompton's text messages start filling up her in-box.
One, two, three alerts came all at once at 4:54 a.m. to her Verizon Wireless phone.
Crompton checked them.
Two were about Sailor. The third, also delayed in its delivery, was about another offender, Plessinger said.
Time line on text messages, attack
Friday, Jan. 1, around 12:15 a.m., Pro Tech Monitoring's call center learns something is wrong with Tommy Lee Sailor's GPS tracking device.
12:44 a.m., the call center sends a text message notifying Sailor's on-call probation officer, Pam Crompton.
1:57 a.m, the call center sends another text message to Crompton.
2:45 a.m., Sailor and a woman leave a Tampa bar and go to two parties.
4 a.m., Sailor and the woman go to his house. He begins attacking her.
4:27 a.m., the victim secretly calls 911. A dispatcher hears the attack under way and tracks the location.
4:44 a.m., police arrive. Sailor escapes through a window.
4:54 a.m., Crompton gets both text messages about Sailor at the same time, plus a third about another offender, which was also delayed. She checks on the other offender.
5:25 a.m., the call center sends a third text message about Sailor to Crompton. She gets it immediately.
5:31 a.m., Crompton sends a message to Sailor's tracking system telling him to call.
5:55 a.m., Crompton gets to Sailor's house.
Saturday, 6 p.m., Sailor is arrested.
Sources: Tampa police and the Florida Department of Corrections
Something about the other offender's case indicated it was a higher priority, Plessinger said. She declined to elaborate, calling it "restricted procedure." Crompton was responsible for about 100 offenders that night, Plessinger said.
At 5:25 a.m., Crompton got a third notification about Sailor.
Six minutes later she made her first attempt to reach him. She sent a message to his Pro Tech device, without answer.
Crompton set out to find him.
Police had already been on the scene for more than an hour when Crompton arrived at 5:55 a.m., Plessinger said.
Sailor had escaped through a window when law enforcement arrived. He was arrested at 6 p.m. Saturday on sexual battery and armed false imprisonment charges.
Plessinger said that if Crompton had gotten the original text message at 12:44 a.m., she would have gone to Sailor's house, found that he wasn't home and notified police to be on the lookout for him.
Police might have been waiting when Sailor arrived home.
Still unexplained is why the text messages weren't delivered on time. The Corrections Department is satisfied that Crompton followed procedure and that the Pro Tech system worked as designed.
Right now, Plessinger said, they're asking questions of Verizon Wireless, the cell phone provider.
Verizon spokesman Chuck Hamby said he didn't have any details on this particular case, but the company will look into it if the state requests more information.
Some reasons for text message delays include being outside the coverage area, being in an old building with poor reception, having the phone turned off or having a dead battery, he said. Also potentially problematic, he said, is if the text is sent from a computer through an Internet gateway.
Jared Reitzin, CEO of MobileStorm, a mobile and e-mail marketing firm, said network congestion is also an increasing problem in the text messaging world that can result in delayed message delivery.
Hamby had a different opinion. "It is rare for a text message to be delayed for a network reason," he said.
Pro Tech president Steve Chapin was traveling Tuesday and could not be reached. The company holds a contract with the Corrections Department to provide the monitoring devices, according to public records. It tracks more than 100,000 offenders in Florida and several other states, according to its Web site.
Jennifer Dritt, executive director of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, said this case shows the limitation of GPS monitoring for sex offenders.
"It's monitoring, it's not prevention," she said. "Mistakes are going to be made, and they can have terrible consequences."
Even when the system is working, she said, there's nothing to prevent a sex offender from attacking again except himself — his fear of going back to jail.
Authorities say Florida serial rapist Jerry Lee Williams Jr., who is serving a life sentence for murder, was wearing an ankle monitor when he attacked at least two of his victims, killing one.
"We have to have very realistic expectations about what these things can deliver," Dritt said, "which is not a rape-free world."
Rebecca Catalanello can be reached at rcatalanello@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3383.
Correction: The attack happened on Friday, Jan. 1 and the arrest on Saturday. An earlier version of this story included the wrong date of attack. ..Source.. Rebecca Catalanello, Times Staff Writer
December 25, 2009
Homeless sex offenders may have to wear GPS devices
If there is any truth to the principle that, "if one person of a group/class commits a wrong then all persons of that group/class must be equally punished even those in the past," then, since Mark Foley went bad, this lawmakers ought to be released from his appointed post. That principle is followed far too often by lawmakers and shows their intent is further punishment and not safety of anyone. GPS -in no way- is a preventative tool, it merely follows an offender, to and from crimes, if they want to commit further crimes. GPS manufacturers will also attest to that.12-25-2009 Ohio:
Columbus -- Homeless sex offenders would be required to wear global positioning devices to track their whereabouts, under legislation being considered in the Ohio House.
Rep. Clayton Luckie, a Democrat from the Dayton area, offered House Bill 369 after two women in his district were attacked by the same homeless sex offender.
"There are predators out there that prey on women and children in our society, putting not just the public but our families in danger," Luckie told members of the House's Criminal Justice Committee Dec. 9. "... Are there better ways to track and monitor people convicted of major sexual crimes but do not have a permanent address? I believe there is a better way."
Tier III sex offenders -- category includes those guilty of rape and crimes against children -- already are required to register their addresses with law enforcement every 90 days.
But of the 5,586 sex offenders currently being monitored by the state, close to 500 are homeless, Luckie said.
Under his bill, those who do not have home addresses would be required to be monitored via a GPS device until they have a fixed residence.
"I believe this law is necessary to monitor those who are deemed most dangerous," Luckie said. "No one can foresee who will commit a crime and when they will do it.
"However, we can take steps to help deter criminal behavior." ..Source.. Marc Kovac, Capital Bureau Chief
November 21, 2009
Tracking sex offenders with GPS units
In order for this GPS program to work, in a non discriminatory manner, police would have to apply the GPS unit ONLY for the hours that the homeless person sleeps. Remember, anyone with an address IS NOT tracked outside of the hours they sleep. So police will have to go to where the HOMELESS person is registered -TWICE DAILY- to apply the unit, then come back when the person gets up (he will need a charged cell phone to call police to come remove the unit when he gets up) to remove the unit. So if the state wants to pay for all that, so be it! OH YES, people call a night different times of a 24 hour span, can't forget that.
11-21-2009 Ohio:
DAYTON (WDTN) - A Dayton lawmaker has a plan to keep better track of homeless sex offenders.
State Representative Clayton Luckie believes GPS units are the answer.
This week, Luckie introduced House Bill 369. It would apply to all Tier 3 sex offenders and would require them to wear a tracking device if they did not register a fixed address.
"We cannot lose track of these sex offenders because they are homeless," said Rep. Luckie. "Using GPS to monitor their whereabouts it necessary to protect the citizens of Ohio".
Montgomery County Sheriff, Phil Plummer, said he thinks the proposed legislation is a good idea.
Currently, there are 47 registered, homeless sex offenders in Montgomery County.
When a sex offenders claims to be homeless, officials cannot send warning postcards to neighbors.
"We find quite a few of them that are lying to us. When we catch them, we prosecute them," said Plummer. "They usually get three years for lying to us about their residence, but it would make our jobs a lot easier".
Plummer said the only problem with the GPS units would be the expensive price tag. ..Source.. Megan O'Rourke
November 15, 2009
When Does GPS Tracking Fail? (A Difference of opinions)
11-15-2009 California:
California’s Inspector General just released a report rebuking his state’s parole agencies, specifically their management of the GPS tracking system designed to keep sex offenders in line. However, while some media outlets have claimed the GPS tracking itself is faulty, the report makes clear that the technology was simply misused, or rather, underused, by some law enforcement.
The failure was brought to light by a recent and highly publicized kidnapping case. From the late 1980s, convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido was under surveillance by federal and state officials and subject to visits and interviews by parole officers. However, in 1991 he and his wife allegedly kidnapped 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard and held her captive for 18 years, subjecting the girl to horrific abuse. Thankfully, Jaycee managed to get to safety this past summer and was finally reunited with her family. Both Garrido and his wife were arrested shortly thereafter. What is baffling to some is how Garrido was able to hide this activity from his parole officers, who were supposed to have conducted surprise visits and frequent checkups. Many too are angered that Garrido was released from prison in 1988 after serving only 11 years of his 50 year sentence.
According to the report, parole officers failed to classify Garrido as a dangerous offender, despite his previous rape conviction. When Garrido was fitted with a GPS tracking ankle bracelet, his case officers largely ignored violations of his traveling restrictions. In fact, 276 violations were logged by the GPS tracking system, but none were actually investigated. Officials say this was because Garrido was registered under the “passive” GPS tracking system reserved for low-level offenders, but clearly his behavioral profile was misjudged.If "passive GPS system violations" are regularly ignored, why have them at all?
The report claims that the GPS tracking system gave California parole officers a “false sense of security” that allowed them to ignore warnings sent by Garrido’s bracelet. According to officials linked with the agency, violations of traveling regulations are widespread, and rules are simply not enforced. California law requires each of the state’s 7,000 sex offenders to be fitted with a GPS tracking device, but if these individuals have discovered that they can disregard moving restrictions without penalty, what good is the technology doing anyone?
GPS tracking systems are only worthwhile if the location data they provide is acted upon. Fortunately, the report recommends that California begin to do just that. Violations will now be penalized, and parole officers will more closely monitor offenders. It’s just sad to see such a horrific case was required to jolt some authorities into action. ..Source.. by Greg Bartlett
November 6, 2009
CA- Sex Offender GPS: A Tool, Not a Solution
A vendor has sold the state a white elephant, GPS will NEVER PREVENT crimes. Notice the comment about how parole agents must VISUALLY review reports from GPS units to see if they SEE any violations, nothing is automated. That type of system is a complete waste of taxpayer money. Given Garrido was on that type of GSP, is it any wonder why Agents never had time to do more than "Hello and Good Bye" when visiting parolees?
11-6-2009 California:
SACRAMENTO, CA - All 6,782 sex offenders currently on parole in California are being monitored by GPS. But the case involving Phillip Garrido shows the system is far from foolproof.
"We've never claimed (GPS) is going to end all problems with tracking sex offenders," said Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Gordon Hinkle. "That's not how the department looks at its use."
Parole Agent Bryan Nakayama demonstrated how he tracks the 23 paroled sex offenders under his supervision. Every day he reviews a map of each parolee's daily travels, looking for suspicious activity and curfew violations. But he readily admits the technology has its limitations.
"The GPS will only show you where they're at. It doesn't show you what they're doing," Nakayama pointed out.
For example, GPS monitoring showed Garrido spent a good deal of time in the area behind his home. Only after his arrest was it revealed the backyard is where he kept 1991 kidnap victim Jaycee Lee Dugard and her two children that he fathered.
Parole Agent Mark McCarthy believes GPS mapping can't replace human interaction in the field. "You still have to rely on good, basic casework," he said.
Voters approved Jessica's Law in 2006, mandating that all sex offenders be tracked by GPS for life. So far, GPS tracking has only been implemented for sex offenders on active parole, and fewer than a third of them are monitored in near-real time.
Most paroled sex offenders are passively monitored with gaps in tracking and reports delayed by a day or longer. Garrido was among those on passive GPS monitoring.
CDCR spokesman Gordon Hinkle said the department would like to place all paroled sex offenders on near-real time monitoring, but lacks the money and manpower to do so. ..Source.. by George Warren
September 5, 2009
GA- Keeping a close watch on sexual predators
9-5-2009 Georgia:
No free man is as closely watched by Hall County authorities as Michael Eugene Cromer.
Sheriff’s officials know where he goes during the day and where he lays his head at night. If his movements draw suspicion, he may get a visit from a detective.
Cromer, 43, is one of a handful of people living in Hall County who are considered sexually violent predators, a classification that goes beyond the county’s other 230 registered sex offenders.
As sex offenders draw renewed attention following a highly publicized California kidnapping case, more of Georgia’s convicted felons released into the public are being classified as high-risk. In 2005, there were just seven sexually violent predators living in Georgia among the state’s thousands of registered sex offenders. With the passage of a 2006 law that expanded the classification process, there are now more than 100 predators living in the state, including three in Hall County.
Two local predators, Larry Gordon Dalton and Jason Todd Smith, are monitored by the state probation department. Cromer, who served more than seven years in Pennsylvania prisons for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault on a child, is monitored by the sheriff’s office.
Compared to the other sex offenders the sheriff’s office keeps up with, Cromer gets special attention. He wears a waterproof electronic monitoring ankle bracelet that sends out a signal pinpointing his location at all times. He will wear the bracelet or one like it for the rest of his life.
Each morning, Hall County Sheriff’s Investigator Mike Mazarky brings up a satellite photo map of Hall County on his computer screen with red dots that show him where Cromer’s been.
Homeless, Cromer usually sleeps in a wooded area off McConnell Drive. He walks to local shelters for food and keeps a fairly regular routine, Mazarky said.
If Cromer ventured somewhere he shouldn’t be, such as a school playground, and lingered there, Mazarky would know.
"I’d go have a little talk with him," the investigator said.
Under Georgia law, sexually violent predators are people convicted of sex crimes who were deemed to be at risk of committing another dangerous sexual offense after their release from prison.
Since 2006, 12 members of a sexual offender registry review board appointed by the governor hold monthly regional meetings in five separate regions and meet quarterly as a full board. The board members, several of whom are licensed clinicians, review more than 200 sex offender cases each month using a set of risk-assessment guidelines known as Static 2002 to assist in their decisions. The evaluations may take into account an offender’s criminal record, history of violence, drug or alcohol abuse, and other factors like lack of self-control.
Cromer was designated a predator by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, where he was a prisoner until 2005. When he moved to Georgia, he was required to register with local authorities within 72 hours.
Because he is homeless, Cromer is asked to check in at the sheriff’s office once a week. Mazarky may conduct periodic spot checks as well. With the ankle monitor, he knows where to find him. Cromer has been cooperative and does everything asked of him, Mazarky said.
Dalton, who served seven years for a Jackson County child molestation conviction, is monitored by the state probation office in much the same way. He wears an ankle monitor and his movements are reviewed daily by a probation officer. His probation officer has at least four contacts with him a month, including a check of his residence. Smith, who was convicted of statutory rape, has the same conditions.
Ahmed Holt, manager of the Georgia Department of Corrections’ Sex Offender Administration Unit, said no probationers in the state get more individual attention than those deemed predators.
"Without a doubt, when they’re declared predators, we automatically bump them up to our highest level of supervision," Holt said.
The electronic Global Positioning System used by state officials has areas where children gather mapped out in each county. If a predator spends too much time in those locations, an alert will be sent to his probation officer.
"It sends out a hit immediately if they go into a violation area," Holt said.Officials acknowledge that while it is illegal for sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of a location where children congregate, it’s not against the law for them to sit at a park bench or go to a public pool.
However, "you can’t loiter at a park," Holt said. "You have to be there for a specific purpose."
Holt said the change in state law led to the rapid growth in sexual predator classifications. Prior to 2006, a judge or probation officer had to request a review of a sex offender’s status.
"Now everybody is reviewed," Holt said.
With more predators come the demand for more resources to monitor them. Already the sheriff’s office has a full-time investigator solely dedicated to keeping up with sex offenders living in the county.
While sexually violent predators are deemed high-risk, they are not certain to re-offend. Neither Holt or Mazarky are aware of any sexual predators being charged with committing new sexual offenses.
Holt cautions that his office keeps tabs on predators "only to the extent that technology allows it."
"We don’t have an eye in the sky on them, but it is another tool to monitor their whereabouts at all times." ..Source.. by Stephen Gurr
