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This year, 17 parolees wearing GPS tracking anklets were arrested at California state fairs. Law enforcement can find it difficult to keep up with parolees to make sure they do not violate their terms of parole and endanger other members of society, but the use of GPS technology is making that job much easier. California uses the tracking technology more than other state, and officers are definitely seeing results. Last year, 35 parolees were arrested at state fairs, and the reduced numbers this year show the program is effectively deterring parolees who might enter forbidden zones, while making public events safer. In both years, all of these parolees were convicted sex offenders.

What GPS Can Do

GPS tracking can be used to keep tabs on any number of things or people for any number of reasons. It can be used to find stolen valuables or vehicles and lost people or pets. Hikers and hunters carry units in case of emergency; companies use GPS to keep traveling employees accountable; parents attach trackers to their kids to help keep them safe. Each unit sends signals to satellites that read latitude and longitude, and computers coordinate that with maps and other information to show the device owner what they need to know. In the case of monitoring parolees, parole agents can set up special exclusion zones for each person that show when someone enters an area where he or she may violate his parole conditions.

California Steps Up

California law enforcement uses GPS tracking devices to monitor the movements of sex offenders and other high-risk parolees. Beginning in 2009, the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) specifically used the system to keep parolees out of county and state fairgrounds. Parolees were warned by their parole officers to keep away from these events due to the large numbers of families with children that attend. Using computers, parole agents monitored exclusion zones and were alerted any time a parolee entered a fairground.

Other officers patrolled the area and made arrests if an offender violated the conditions of his parole. The number of arrests were cut in half from last year, showing that parolees now know that the CDCR is serious about the boundaries it has set and that they are being monitored to ensure compliance. As other states and law enforcement agencies implement the same kinds of systems, they will find a difficult task made easier—protecting society while restoring convicted criminals to productive roles.

Article Written by Greg Bartlett