Email

By Greg Bartlett

The benefits of GPS tracking reach into every corner of modern life. Individuals use them to aid in personal safety and protection of property, while businesses managers enjoy greater efficiency and reduced costs by equipping vehicles with GPS tracking devices. More and more often, the technology is being used to aid law enforcement officials as well. The most recent uses have been connected with the release of prisoners on parole.

The Law & GPS

Some law enforcement departments equip paroled inmates with a GPS bracelet before they are released. In this way, officers can determine whether convicted offenders are keeping the terms of their parole without needing an individual officer to check up on them. The plan monitors parolees by allowing coordinates of places they are able to go to be entered into the system. If they go somewhere that isn’t on the list, officers receive an alert.

Law enforcement benefits from GPS in other ways as well. One recent court ruled that police departments could use GPS tracking to monitor a suspect’s car without violating his privacy rights. Since the device provides only information that could be seen by someone following the car, there is no need to obtain a warrant. As law enforcement offices try to cut costs, GPS tracking allows them to monitor suspect activity without needing to assign an officer to follow every case. The devices have been particularly useful in monitoring suspected drug dealers as they drive in and out of the country to meet contacts.

In addition, cases of theft can be solved much more easily when the stolen item has been equipped with a GPS tracking device. If the owner of the stolen item can provide police with the information gathered from the GPS transmitter, the odds of recovering the stolen item increase dramatically. The technology has been implemented to solve car theft rings and to recover stolen items such as ATVs and boats.

Across the board, GPS tracking makes performance of a law enforcement officer’s duties more attainable. While solving crimes will never be an easy job, GPS can take officers out of harm’s way at least some of the time. Those times bring greater safety and increased peace of mind to officers and their loved ones. As the guardians of the people, police officers deserve every help that technology can provide them. With GPS tracking, they can do their jobs more efficiently to keep themselves and the citizens they are protecting as safe as possible.