Sex Offender Tracking and Monitoring

Local and national media coverage of sex offender cases has brought the issue of sex offenses into the public spotlight. Specifically, the release of convicted sex offenders into communities has created a public outcry for increased prison sentences, higher levels of supervision upon release, or both.

Prisons, however, are already overcrowded which means that longer sentences would force officials to either build additional facilities or grant other inmates early release. Likewise, in order to increase the level of postrelease supervision, either the number of officials assigned to sex offender supervision would have to increase or current officials would have to be burdened with larger caseloads. Unfortunately, the funding required for additional supervisory officers or for the construction of new correctional facilities is unavailable. The early release of other inmates could create new concerns for public safety, while adding to the caseloads of current officials would result in lowered levels of postrelease supervision. The chances of any of the proposed ideas actually acting as a feasible solution for sex offender monitoring are slim. Yet the fact remains that sexual predators are being released to our communities at an ever-increasing rate.

Sex offender monitoring programs currently may include :

• On-going audits of sex offender cases under Department of Correction supervision. Audits to assure "best practices" are appropriately focused on risk.
• Regular face-to-face contacts.
• Specialized officers and visual surveillance.
• Supplemental visual surveillance program at specific sites to determine offender compliance/non-compliance.
• Unannounced home visits.
• Close coordination with treatment and criminal justice agencies.
• Regular case staffing with service professionals involved with the offender.
• Small caseloads are maintained where resources allow.
• Sex offender risk assessment tools tied to supervision plans that are designed to reduce the incidence of re-offending and the associated level of harm.
• Research sites for the Sex Offender Need Assessment Rating (SONAR) and Static-99 implementations. The SONAR evaluates change in risk among sex offenders.
• Ongoing assessment of staff training needs is identified using emerging knowledge about effective practices in addressing sex offending behavior.
• Home and vehicle search of offender.
• Rapid response to violation behavior.
• Development of Sex Offender Risk Management Teams at specific sites.
• Restriction of movement.
• Screening of sex offenders requesting interstate transfer to another state.

Meanwhile, the problem remains. Many sex offenders released into communities are difficult, if not impossible, for agency personnel to locate at any given time. Offender attendance to postrelease treatment sessions is also difficult for officials to authentically verify.

Sexual Offender Monitoring Programs currently in place usually implement Open Exchange of Information including:

• Interagency collaboration among criminal justice agencies and universal release of information
• Community notification programs
• Sex offender registration through Public Safety departments and other registry organizations
• Victim awareness programs

Yet these programs fall short of real and effective monitoring and often place the burden of monitoring on the potential victims.

GPS Monitoring of Sex Offenders
Utilizing new GPS technologies cannot guarantee that offenses will not occur, but it can give corrections and law enforcement agencies verifiable evidence when an offender has attempted to circumvent his condition(s) for release. Officers can then better focus their efforts on persons they know are a greater risk for re-offense.

STEALTH TRAC supplies corrections agencies with GPS monitoring solutions specifically designed to enhance an agency's ability to track and monitor the location of sex offenders 24/7/365. More importantly, STEALTH TRAC's systems are designed to reduce the manual labor required by officers to visually observe the movement of sex offenders, and to assist officers in determining which offenders may be at the greatest risk of re-offense. STEALTH TRAC's systems have been in development since 1995, and have been in the field for over 2 years with corrections agencies in over 40 states. Experience indicates that agencies that utilize GPS monitoring systems have increased offender compliance, enhanced their ability to monitor more offenders simultaneously, and have had the greatest impact on reducing re-offense. STEALTH TRAC's sex offender monitoring systems benefit both the community and the sex offender.

STEALTH TRAC's GPS tracking systems can monitor the location of enrolled sex offenders around the clock, within 15 feet of accuracy. Traditional "house arrest" systems can only verify an offender's presence in a house/residence, but don't have the ability to track offenders once outside the house. Agency personnel can use STEALTH TRAC's web-based application - tracNET24 - to create customized zones and schedules that streamline monitoring efforts. For example, an agency can mandate that no enrolled sex offender be within a 500 foot radius of any school in the community. If an offender violates the mandate, STEALTH TRAC's system can provide near real-time notification of the actual infraction and offer a verifiable court reference for the violation. Additional automated reports are sent to the agency, highlighting instances of offender non-compliance. Sex offenders that know they are being watched have much less chance of re-offense, because there is a greater likelihood that they will be caught and prosecuted.

Additionally, STEALTH TRAC systems are widely used in conjunction with postrelease treatment to increase the chances of long-term rehabilitation, which not only decreases the tax burden on the public associated with re-offense, but also increases overall community safety. Routine attendance to treatment sessions is one of the most important factors for successful rehabilitation. Officers can create zones and schedules that effectively verify an offender's attendance to said treatment sessions.

Many States' Departments of Probation and Parolee have established working groups to develop strategies to supervise sex offenders as a specific group of offenders in need of special management practices. New and creative strategies have been initiated that emphasize individualized case management. Case management refers to the coordination and implementation of a cluster of activities directed toward supervision, treatment and management of the behavior of an individual sex offender. The aim of this new approach is to improve the system-wide management of sex offenders in the community for the purpose of holding the offender consistently accountable for the damage caused by sexual abuse.

It usually becomes the Department of Probation and Parolee's responsibility to ensure that the offender complies with court-mandated supervision conditions. Through treatment and behavior modification, sex offenders are taught to achieve personal control of their inappropriate impulses, feelings and behaviors. Often the managing agency develops a risk management program for sex offenders who are under the authority of the Division of Probation and Parolee in order to increase accountability.

Yet, without implementing GPS monitoring strategies, such agencies are overburdened. STEALTH TRAC delivers a turnkey monitoring system for any community that wants to enhance public safety and the effectiveness of other monitoring and rehabilitation initiatives.