State Corrections Officials Work To Track Down Sex Offenders
The Department of Corrections is getting help from retired law enforcement officers, global positioning satellite (GPS) technology, and an Internet database in an effort to catch several of Wisconsin’s unregistered sex offenders.
Gov. Jim Doyle started the project this past September and found more than 600 offenders as a result. The state wants to send a message to the offenders who have not registered, according to Department of Corrections Secretary Matt Frank.
The state boasts about 5,000 offenders in prison and 5,000 more are on supervised release, but several of them who are supposed to be registered are not.
“Those are the people we are really focusing on,” says Frank. “When a sex offender lives in anonymity, the likelihood for problems increases.” Gov. Doyle has allocated money to increase the number of offenders who will be monitored using GPS software. More than 225 offenders will have to wear bracelets by the end of the year.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Stevens Point Journal (Wis.) (06/02/06) P. 1A; Thornton, Patrick .