Electronic Monitoring
Use of Electronic Monitoring Skyrockets
By Christopher Zoukis A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, released on September 7, 2016, revealed that the number of accused and convicted offenders required to wear some kind of electronic monitoring device has increased nearly 140 percent in the last decade. Electronic monitoring devices generally consist of GPS and radio-frequency (RF) units. GPS systems…
Read MoreSome GPS Devices Capable of Audio Recording
By Christopher Zoukis Civil libertarians and prisoner advocacy groups have expressed shock and outrage at the discovery that some Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices, used to monitor the movement and whereabouts of many pre-trial defendants, parolees, sex offenders and other persons, function like cell phones and are capable of recording conversations without the knowledge…
Read MoreGPS Monitoring System in Los Angeles Plagued by False Alerts, Ignored Alarms
By Christopher Zoukis Los Angeles County’s GPS monitoring system, designed to keep track of high-risk probationers, has overwhelmed probation officers with thousands of false alerts each day – so many that some officers simply ignore them. As a result, dozens of probationers have been able to roam unmonitored. In some cases, even when probationers removed…
Read MoreNinth Circuit: Heck Allows Section 1983 Parole Condition Challenges
By Mark Wilson On July 31, 2013, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals joined the Seventh Circuit in holding that the Heck doctrine does not bar all parole condition challenges brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. California’s Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act of 2006 – also known as Jessica’s Law or Proposition 83 –…
Read MoreThe Pitfalls of Electronic Monitoring
By Dianne Frazee-Walker Prior to the March murder of Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements by parolee EvanEbel, there were many warning signs that monitoring bracelets were not properly functioning. Ebel was a parolee, who wore an ankle bracelet. He tore off his ankle bracelet and went on a shooting spree killing Clements and Nathan Leon, an innocent pizza…
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