NCJ Number
197263
Journal
Journal of Offender Monitoring Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer/Fall 2002 Pages: 6-7,9-10,30
Date Published
2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes and analyzes Florida’s use of global positioning satellite (GPS) technology to track convicted offenders who are sentenced to community supervision.
Abstract
The author explains that in 1998, several Florida law enforcement departments banded together to create a system in which offenders who were sentenced to community supervision could be tracked using global positioning satellite technology. The goal was to track these offenders and compare their locations with the location of crimes reported to local police. This article details the results of Florida’s pilot project, called CrimeTrax. The goals of CrimeTrax were to (1) reduce crime, (2) hold offenders accountable for their behaviors, (3) provide a workforce multiplier for law enforcement agencies, and (4) to improve crime analysis capability. On October 31, 2001, CrimeTrax completed a 3-month pilot run that involved 12 law enforcement agencies in 4 counties and included approximately 600 felony probationers statewide. The author concludes that the pilot program was a success and expects many other States to begin using similar systems in the coming years. CrimeTrax successfully demonstrates how technology can be used to remove a criminals’ anonymity. While the pilot run was successful, the real results of such a program will not be known until many more offenders are being tracked. The author explains that this type of program has the potential to have a real impact on public safety. The program works, explains the author, because it works to modify an offenders’ behavior. Tables, references