"Courts Have New Set of Eyes"
Chicago Tribune (05/20/04) P. NW1; Keilman, John
Using a global positioning system (GPS)-based tracking tool, probation officers in Kane County, Ill., are able to re-create the entire day's activities of suspected sex offenders. This would include such data as location, driving speed, and duration of stay at each place. Such data is downloaded every night from a tracking device that suspects carry with them whenever they leave home. If they get close to prohibited areas, probation officers will be informed of it, and the suspect could face jail time. Kane County pays $7.50 per day per person for the GPS system, which is paid for by a $9,000 state grand. However, the GPS system does not transmit live reports of a person's whereabouts; officers can only get locations when the tracking device is placed into a docking station. But Kendall County's GPS system does allow probation officers to get an instantaneous notification if a person gets too close to a restricted area. Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Corrections has chosen to use ankle bracelets instead of a GPS system for 1,500 sex offenders and parolees because officials want to be sure a GPS system would be as good or better than ankle bracelets, according to Illinois Department of Corrections rep Sergio Molina. Wisconsin's Department of Corrections encountered glitches when it conducted a test-run of a GPS system, with the devices producing incorrect readings and issuing false alarms, says representative Bill Clausius.
www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0405200397may20,1,5465703.story?coll=chi-technology-hed
