The Move To High-Tech Tracking Of Inmates
States with budget concerns are turning to Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to track inmates released on early parole, defendants awaiting trial, and those on probation. Thirty-two states and 125 jurisdictions employ the technology, which provides law enforcement with real-time monitoring of a person’s whereabouts.
The tracking of inmates allows states and jurisdictions to reap savings by eliminating the $50-per-day costs of housing inmates eligible for GPS tracking. The cost of using the GPS technology, which uses an electronic bracelet to transmit the wearer’s location to satellites, averages $5 per day for each inmate.
The technology is especially useful for determining whether a parolees are violating conditions of their parole by entering a bar, an area frequented by schoolchildren, or some other location.
The Florida Department of Corrections reports that the state has reduced the number of sex offenders that reoffend to between 3 percent and 7 percent from about 50 percent since it began using the tracking system in 1997.
Elizabeth Alexander of the ACLU has reservations about using the technology, but is mostly supportive of using GPS tracking to lower the number of people imprisoned. The case of Lawrence Napper, who violated his parole restrictions 444 times while wearing a tracking bracelet, shows that GPS tracking must be closely monitored to be successful.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Christian Science Monitor (05/07/04) P. 2; Axtman, Kris .