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By Greg Bartlett

Most of us have seen movies or TV shows of police investigations. The police officers may have to follow a suspect daily in order to collect the necessary information and monitor the suspect to ensure that crimes are not committed. But what if there’s an easier way rather than following suspects around in cars or on foot? Could electronic devices track suspects for the police?

A GPS tracking device can do exactly that. It can follow suspects, monitoring their location and activities. Usually the tracking device is installed on the suspect’s vehicle, but sometimes police officers are able to track other items belonging to the suspect.

Police officers have routinely obtained warrants and attached a GPS tracking device to a suspect’s vehicle, monitoring the whereabouts and activities of the suspect without having to keep visual contact. In fact, if all the police officers are monitoring is the location of the suspect, they can do this from a distance with computers.

A GPS tracking device has already helped in the capture of a man stalking his former girlfriend. Police were able to monitor his activates and apprehend him before he injured his ex-girlfriend. Police in another state monitored a man for about two months and, by using the information gathered from the GPS device, were able to charge him with robbery.

There is some concern about the invasion of privacy when using GPS devices to monitor suspects. One court says that warrantless GPS monitoring does not violate the 4th Amendment since it does not constitute actual search and seizure. Another court denied a warrantless use of GPS monitoring, saying that it went against all expectations of privacy. While the courts are still wrestling with the legality of warrantless GPS tracking of suspects, police officers don’t have to stop taking advantage of GPS devices. Instead, all they need to do is obtain warrants first so that they can protect the privacy of individuals while still investigating suspects and protecting the community.

The realm of police investigations fascinates many of us, especially the idea of watching and following suspects to find out what they’re doing and where they’re going. But in today’s technology age, that monitoring doesn’t have to be done with an officer physically present. Instead, by using a GPS tracking device after receiving a warrant, police officers can more effectively monitor suspects without putting themselves in danger. Technology can help police officers make our community a safer place.