Stiffer Penalties Proposed for Tampering With a GPS Tracking Ankle Bracelet

GPS tracking ankle bracelets have been used for several years to monitor known sex offenders, both in America and around the world. The devices enable law enforcement to monitor the whereabouts of these offenders and to ensure that they comply with the requirements of their release. But sometimes, offenders find ways to remove the bracelets, enabling them to commit additional crimes or to simply disappear. In order to address this problem, government officials in Queensland, Australia have instituted an automatic one-year prison sentence for tampering with a GPS-enabled tracking bracelet or anklet.

History of GPS Tracking for Sex Offenders

Before GPS tracking bracelets gained traction in law enforcement, sex offenders were monitored using traditional methods like regular meetings with a parole officer and weekly meetings or classes. But despite these measures, many paroled offenders went on to commit additional crimes. Since they could not be monitored at all times, it was fairly easy to slip through the net and find ways to continue their criminal behavior.

In addition to these traditional methods, GPS tracking anklets and bracelets are now used by a majority of law enforcement departments to keep better track of sex offenders in the system. The devices allow for monitoring of known offenders twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If an offender enters an off-limits area such as a school or child-care facility, police officers can detect that offense and take immediate action.

Effectiveness of GPS Tracking Bracelets

The real question is this: do the devices work? According to a study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, the answer is yes. The study found that:

• Paroled offenders who did not wear GPS tracking devices returned to custody almost 40% more often than those who wore the devices


• The GPS-wearing group experienced 12% fewer arrests of any kind


• GPS-wearing offenders were more likely to comply with parole requirements


• Offenders who did not wear GPS tracking devices had their parole revoked more often than those who wore the devices

While instituting a GPS tracking system for sex offenders does entail an additional cost, that cost is only $8 more per day than traditional monitoring methods. And that extra cost pales in comparison with the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to keep criminals deemed too dangerous to release into society in dedicated institutions after the completion of their prison sentences.

Why The Devices Sometimes Fail

Unfortunately, GPS tracking isn’t a fail-safe method. Sometimes offenders remove their bracelets and manage to elude parole officers, going on to commit additional crimes. In some cases, alerts may go unchecked due to lack of personnel. And in California, recent changes to the law mean that offenders who tamper with their bracelets now go to county jails rather than state prison. Crowded conditions often mean these offenders receive little to no jail time. But that’s the fault of the system, not of the GPS tracking device itself. Lawmakers in the state of California and elsewhere are working to find better solutions that keep people safe and prevent repeat offenses. Because GPS tracking devices have a proven track record of reducing repeat offenses, the fact that they sometimes fail shouldn’t be seen as a deterrent to using them in the first place. Ultimately, the cost of implementation is well-worth the lives that can be saved by drastically reducing the number of additional offenses committed.

What Lawmakers Are Doing To Correct the Problem

Tracking sex offenders with a GPS anklet has revolutionized the way law enforcement deals with known paroled offenders. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make improvements to the system. The Queensland measures are one example of how departments can take action to reduce the number of repeat offenses even further. Law enforcement departments in other locations have introduced proposals such as:

• Changing laws that send offenders to county jail for tampering with an ankle bracelet to require a state prison sentence instead


• Three-year prison sentences for removing or tampering with an ankle bracelet


• Making ankle bracelet tampering a mandatory felony


• Increased bond for those charged with a sex crime

Police officers stress that citizens should still feel safe, despite the fact that offenders can remove their ankle bracelets. When a bracelet is cut or stretched, the police receive an alert and in most cases, they can catch the offender within 48 hours.

GPS tracking ankle bracelets have provided part of the solution to overcrowded prisons and broken paroles. While they can’t solve the problem of limited personnel, they can provide 24/7 monitoring capability, which would be impossible even with more officers on the force. Lawmakers hope that stiffer jail sentences will prove to be a greater deterrent to tampering with the devices, keeping sex offenders where they’re supposed to be and making communities safer for everyone.

Stiffer Penalties Proposed for Tampering With a GPS Tracking Ankle Bracelet