GPS Technology Tackles Troublemakers

He’s been on the run for more than a year. Hiding in caves, mountaintops, and countrysides, Osama bin Laden is America’s most wanted man. As U.S. military forces attempt to track and monitor his every move, arguably the most effective weapon in their arsenal is global positioning systems, more commonly known as GPS.

The U.S. military invented GPS during the Cold War to mobilize troops and missiles. Today, these versatile electronic products are also being used here at home for other “enemies of the state”: convicted criminals. For years, U.S. correctional authorities have used house arrest devices in the war on crime to keep tabs on people who have committed non-violent crimes.

How it Works

Criminals subjected to GPS tracking and monitoring wear a removable personal tracking unit (PTU) and a non-removable wireless ankle cuff the size of a large wristwatch. The cuff communicates with the PTU to ensure it remains in close proximity. If communication with the cuff is lost, the PTU records a violation.

The PTU acquires its location from the Department of Defense’s GPS satellites and communicates that information to an Internet-based database system. Using a Web browser, authorities can access a detailed map to determine where the person has been. If the criminal was in a place he or she was prohibited from being--for instance, if a pedophile violated a court order to stay away from schools--the GPS tracking system would capture that information. The database also allows law enforcement authorities to determine if a GPS-enabled criminal was in the vicinity when a crime is committed.

Opposition

It is not uncommon for a new technology to be met with resistance; GPS tracking and monitoring is no exception.

Some people believe GPS devices violate civil liberties. But no one actually becomes subject to these devices unless they agree to wear them, which suggests criminals themselves believe being tracked and monitored is preferable to incarceration.

Other opponents say GPS monitoring is not punitive enough. That may be true for some criminals ... but on the whole, GPS devices make it possible to imprison more violent criminals for longer periods of time. GPS monitoring also makes it less likely non-violent offenders will become “hardened”--and thus more dangerous upon leaving prison. GPS systems can lower the likelihood that new crimes will be committed, as persons being monitored 24/7 know the odds of being detected through time and location monitoring are very high.

Costs and Benefits

According to a report issued in 2001 by the American Correctional Association, 22,192 people in the U.S. were under electronic monitoring for either probation or parole in 1999. With more than six million people under the watchful eye of the nation’s correctional system, states continue to look for methods other than prison to keep tabs on the least violent offenders.

Several states have used electronic monitoring when tight budgets make imprisonment financially burdensome. Imprisonment costs thousands of dollars per month; GPS tracking costs about one-tenth as much.

For every non-violent offender who can be removed from prison and subjected to GPS tracking, a cell is made available for detaining and controlling a violent offender. Moreover, GPS tracking enables probation and parole officers to keep closer tabs on offenders who may pose a significant danger to their communities.

Sex offenders, INS visa violators, people subject to restraining orders, and early release inmates are prime candidates for GPS tracking. GPS can be employed at all stages of the law enforcement process:

• following arrest but before trial, accused offenders can be fitted with GPS devices rather than detained in jail, released on their own recognizance, or set free on bail;

• convicted offenders placed on probation;

• persons released to a halfway house or given furloughs for employment or other purposes; and

• imprisoned offenders freed on parole after serving some, but not all, of their sentences.

GPS tracking is most beneficial for non-violent offenders whose detention in prison would only worsen their economic and social situation. Sending a full-time parent or someone gainfully employed outside the home to prison would cause a deterioration in the family structure and loss of employment ... not to mention a reduction in taxes paid to the state and an increase in spending by the correctional department. While they broke the law and deserve some form of punishment, such persons are unlikely to benefit from time in prison ... and their communities won’t be made much better off either.

Jim Stark, president and chief financial officer of iSECUREtrac Corp., is an expert on the application of GPS electronic monitoring and tracking for improving criminal justice and public safety. http://www.isecuretrac.com

For more information ...

iTracker Monitoring System. “With iSECUREtrac’s iTracker monitoring system, offender tracking capabilities now reach beyond the confines of the home, giving authorities the ability to monitor and track an offender while the offender pursues his or her daily activities such as work or travel outside the home.” (iSECUREtrac Corp., 2002, 12pp.)

Go to http://www.heartland.org and use PolicyBot to request document #11381