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By Greg Bartlett

The criminal justice system operates at full capacity in most modern American cities. Overcrowded prisons and shrinking budgets place burdens on law enforcement that make it difficult to perform the necessary task of keeping perpetrators from resuming criminal activity. GPS tracking is a solution that has been implemented with success in many cities in order to monitor non-violent offenders and parolees once they have been released from prison.

GPS & Criminal Justice

The multiple uses of GPS tracking give law enforcement officers the ability to effectively monitor offenders who have been released from prison while making the best use of tax dollars and taxpayer funded department resources. One of the most common solutions to the problem of keeping tabs on offenders is to equip them with GPS tracking ankle bracelets. The waterproof bracelets can be worn twenty-four hours a day, and send signals at specified intervals to a police monitoring station, allowing law enforcement officers to see the exact location of each wearer at any given moment. If the bracelet is removed, the monitoring station immediately receives an alert, allowing police to deal with the situation quickly.

GPS tracking devices can also be used to set up perimeters to monitor the activity of certain offenders, enabling departments to make better use of manpower. If an individual is under house arrest, a perimeter can be put in place around his property, notifying police if he crosses the boundary. Paroled child sex offenders who are restricted from going near parks or schools can have boundaries placed around these areas as well. Multiple perimeters can be put in place for any given individual, allowing police to effectively keep tabs on whether the offender is keeping the terms of his parole. GPS perimeters can also be used to monitor those under restraining orders. If a person has been ordered to keep away from a particular home or area, GPS tracking can notify police immediately if those terms have been violated.

One politician recently decided to voluntarily wear a GPS tracking ankle bracelet as a visible symbol of how GPS can help solve the problem of overcrowded prisons and underfunded police departments. Monitoring criminals with GPS devices requires only one-tenth of the funds necessary to keep those same prisoners in the prison system. For non-violent offenders, house arrest with GPS tracking capability offers a solution that may be a key component of bringing criminal justice spending under control.