Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Why Put the GPS Bracelets Around their Ankles?

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by

James A. Bacon
in

You gotta love it. Sen, R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, a candidate for attorney general, has proposed slapping a Geographic Positioning System (GPS) tracking device around the ankles of sex offenders who had been sentenced with prison terms of 10 years or more.

“There’s no science out there that says these sex offenders can be rehabilitated,” Deeds told the Charlottesville Daily Progress. Oklahoma, he noted, uses GPS devices to track the whereabouts of registered sex offenders at a cost of about $9,000 per offender per year. Tagging all of Virginia’s 13,000 sex offenders could potentially cost as much as $117 million, the Daily Progress said. Yes, Deeds countered, but the cost would come down as manufacturers of the ankle bracelets achieved economies of scale with growing volume.

I’m admitting my ignorance here. Are those 13,000 “violent sex offenders” all child molesters? Or do they include rapists, wife beaters and others convicted of crimes against adults? From my understanding, rapists and wife beaters–as much as they richly deserve their time in jail–are not considered incorrigible and, therefore, are less of a threat than the child molesters.

If we could bring down the cost to a few million dollars, the idea would be well worth it. With the cable news networks fanning the flames of hysteria every time some poor child is abducted in Florida or Arizona, mothers of young children across the country are consumed with fear. Deeds’ idea, though a little nutty sounding, might give them some piece of mind.

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Comments

  1. Ray Hyde Avatar
    Ray Hyde

    While we are at it, how about a big scarlet A for adulterous politicians to wear?

  2. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    If Chap Petersen gets to be lieutenant governor and opens those six regional LG offices around Virginia he has proposed, perhaps we can get an ankle bracelet for him to track his travels, too.

  3. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    That reminds me of this. Oh, the memories.

  4. Waldo Jaquith Avatar
    Waldo Jaquith

    In the Progress article, Creigh says that there’s no way to rehabilitate them. Presumably, then, he’s referring not to all sex offenders (ie, people who engage in oral sex), but to those with actual mental problems that compel them to commit dangerous sex offenses.

  5. CR UVa Avatar
    CR UVa

    I’m wondering what this plan is meant to do. Sure, authorities know exactly where each offender goes, but does this prevent them from committing another sex crime, or help in their rehabilitation? Bring down the price significantly, and maybe it is a good idea, but for now, it may be better just to stick with the current system.

  6. Dry Throat Avatar
    Dry Throat

    Bath County resident Creigh Deeds shows how a small town attorney thinks, when he dares to propose GPS ankle bracelets to prevent abuse of ankle biters. How trite!

    Not to be outdone, Delegate Bob McDonnell has proposed GPS ankle bracelets for non-Christians.

    http://thedrythroat.blogspot.com/

  7. El Equipo Progresivo Avatar
    El Equipo Progresivo

    Think about it this way cr uva,
    If the offender knows that they are being tracked, and that there is no way to hide, they will be much less likely to put themselves in suspicious circumstances. For example: hanging around playgrounds or schools or malls etc… If they do commit a crime then they can be tied directly to crime scene etc…

    Child molestors are notorious for being repeat offenders.

    Deed’s idea is a very good one and deserves much more serious discussion than some of you seem willing to have.

    No Jim Bacon, you wouldn’t tag 13,000 people. You’d take the most serious offenders first and work your way back. Criteria would be established and a budget set. A couple pilot programs to start with…

  8. Waldo Jaquith Avatar
    Waldo Jaquith

    I’m wondering what this plan is meant to do. Sure, authorities know exactly where each offender goes, but does this prevent them from committing another sex crime, or help in their rehabilitation? Bring down the price significantly, and maybe it is a good idea, but for now, it may be better just to stick with the current system.

    The problem here, CR, is that our system for dealing with sexual offenders is premised on tracking them. Once they’ve served their sentence, we can no longer hold them, so we have them register their whereabouts. The trouble is that if they stop registering where they live, it’s a bit of a trick to track them down. And some huge percentage (I forget how much — 20 percent or something) of sex offenders are totally lost, registry-wise.

    For those offenders who have served their sentence, don’t present a sufficiently series public risk to warrant keeping them in prison, but may be a flight risk (or, at least, a tracking risk), GPS-based tracking will give the registry teeth.

    While the civil libertarian in me is given pause by this, I know that I’d much rather be tracked by GPS than kept in prison.

  9. MrGS Avatar
    MrGS

    This is an interesting blog; blogger and commentators alike. I can figure the controversy of offender tracking would get political.

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