NCJ Number
226588
Journal
Journal of Offender Monitoring Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: 2009 Pages: 11-24
Date Published
2009
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The objective of this paper is to point out the significant ways the Internet can be used as a tool in sex offender supervision and to discuss the context in which probation and parole agencies operate so as to provide a fuller understanding of the additional challenges imposed on officers by the digital age and to empower them with the knowledge and tools to meet these challenges.
Abstract
Findings and recommendations from the paper include: (1) supervision agencies are not sufficiently staffed or funded to take advantage of the capabilities that remote computer and Internet management systems offer, allowing convicted sex offenders greater leeway when they are released; (2) supervising officers are not, generally speaking, adequately trained to make maximum use of the capabilities remote computer and Internet management systems offer or adequately trained to keep up with the evasive actions of offenders; (3) the judiciary continues to work through the metes and bounds of what types of monitoring conditions are permissible under the law; and (4) addressing each of these gaps requires additional investment from government, investments, that if spent wisely will assure laws being passed today would have a real-world impact. This article is based on a review of current literature, Web sites, and materials from technology companies; interviews with probation, parole, and pretrial services officers from Federal, State, and local agencies; and through review of relevant State statutes and case law. This paper is organized into five sections. Section 1 provides an update on the extent of the child exploitation problems. Section 2 describes in detail remote monitoring technologies and techniques used to lawfully detect recidivist behavior. Section 3 examines policy and surveys recent legal activity aimed at enabling remote monitoring. Section 4 discusses gaps in the system that limits the effectiveness of remote monitoring. The last section suggests policy solutions to fill those gaps. Sexual victimization of children is heinous, and the Internet has facilitated a dramatic increase in this type of crime. The hope is that remote monitoring tools can be used to their fullest and improve the criminal justice system’s ability to protect children from repeat sex offenders. Figures and endnotes