Fla. to Test GPS Systems for Sex Offenders

[Eugene]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050805/ap_on_re_us/sexual_offenders_gps

Fla. to Test GPS Systems for Sex Offenders

39 minutes ago

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - State corrections officials will begin testing two
satellite tracking systems Monday that will eventually be used to track
sex offenders under a law that goes into effect in September.

The Department of Corrections announced Friday that if their systems
pass field tests, it intends to award contracts for global positioning
system tracking devices to be used under the Jessica Lunsford Act.

Houston-based Satellite Tracking of People would provide the system to
be used in northern Florida and G4S Justice Services Inc. would cover
South Florida.

The agency also announced its intent to award a contract to Advanced
Public Safety to provide a system that would let officials match the
GPS tracking data with crime data to see if criminals are in areas where
crimes have been committed.

more...

[truthisfreedom]

1. like that's going to work. GPS systems are easily defeated with something

as simple as heavy clouds or trees. the batteries can go dead very quickly on high-powered units. it's ridiculous to assume that a clever, desperate criminal couldn't think of a way to defeat a tracking device whose failure can be explained away by so many simple excuses. "i dunno what happened. i've been home all day. maybe it got wet and shorted out or something?"

[merwin]

2. Wouldn't a good coating of tinfoil around your ankle stop the signal?

[madeline_con]

3. Maybe, but we could teach our kids....

to steer clear of those wearing tinfoil anklets. ;)

[Moochy]

4. What about beenies?

[madeline_con]

8. In my experience...

the beanie wearers are usually just harmless crazies. They aren't much into kiddie sex.

[teryang]

11. Stop the signal and you are violated

Back to prison. The problem with GPS tracking is that when it goes offline, the wearer is in violation of release conditions, a warrant is issued, he is arrested, and after a violation hearing goes back to prison. The primary risk is to the wearer not the public. The wearer has no incentive to shut it off or block it.

Intentionally blocking the signal would be an improbable strategy highly likely to result in imprisonment. Inadvertant signal blocking is a likely cause of injustice.

[Carni]

5. Are they going to hook up the jebster's son

So he doesn't do the mambo in any more mall parking lots in broad daylight? (what will we tell the children!)

[Spinzonner]

6. Gonad Positioning System ?

[Occulus]

7. Am I the only one to be against this because it is simply WRONG? n/t

[ProudDad]

10. No you're not

The ACLU is also concerned about this knee-jerk law...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. how long before they expand this to other crimes, like

being a member of DU or listening to Air America?

This is one hell of a scary slippery slope to true fascism.

[Moochy]

14. It's cool to hate people for these crimes

Even after they have been punished. See watch my righteousness as I come up with horrible punishments for sex offenders. Look at me beat my virtual chest and ignore human rights.

I think people are practicing some heinous situational ethics, and it's bullshit. Sex offenders in general are punished with incarceration, now we've moved to chemical castration being acceptable, followed by continual gps tracking, just one more step and it's ok for them to just be incinerated after appeals are lost.

If you think that there should be capital punishment for sex offenders, you should re-examine your party affiliation, and seek out fellow nazis, march and change the laws. or just keep hiding out among democratic underground, making society in your own image.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

15. combined with other problems like wrongful convictions

Some years ago, when the capital punishment issue in Illinois was getting hot, it came out that 17% of those convicted and getting a sentence of death were innocent. (some of these won on appeal, but not all) Eventually, we learned that 17 people who had lost all of their appeals and sat on death row were innocent. A GOP governor (since indicted for unrelated crimes) let them loose, to the chagrin of many neocons in Illinois. (some of whom are running for gov now)

For smaller offenses, the ABA once estimated that the error rate could be twice as high. (robbery, sex offenses, etc)

Let's stick with something like 20% for the purposes of discussion.
Because of bad lawyering, no funds for a private atty, judicial errors, lying witnesses, and faulty ID and testimony, prosecutorial misconduct, and the heinous nature of the alleged crime, we can safely assume that 20% of those convicted of sex offenses probably are not guilty. Add to that the consensual sex between minors (where only one of the parties is charged, usually a male of color, if I read the stats right) raise that to 30%, and you have almost one out of three people who are marked for life, hounded refused employment and generally made into pariahs for the rest of their lives.

This type of policy works great for small minds, scared into thinking that their junior Miss Perfect is at risk of being raped by a huge hispanic or black guy, and the only way to stop it is to increase punishment, without regard to law, logic or ethics.
It is also insane. Not surprising that Florida is doing it first. I suspect Texas, Kansas and Alabama to follow suit.

[ProudDad]

9. Check this out

It seems that one group of people who are easily discriminated against are being unfairly used as political pawns by Dem's and repukes:

"In fact, of the 9,691 men convicted of rape, sexual assault, or child molestation who were released in 1994, only 5.3 percent were arrested for another sex crime after their release. The percentage of those that were actually convicted after their second arrest was down in the 3 percent range. Forty-three percent were rearrested within three years - that contrasts with a rearrest rate of 68 percent for inmates serving time for a variety of other crimes."

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/010559.html

Also from the article:

" Myth: Most sex offenders reoffend

Fact: Reconviction data suggests that this is not the case. Further, reoffense rates vary among different types of sex offenders and are related to specific characteristics of the offender and the offense.

It is noteworthy that recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than for the general criminal population. For example, one study of 108,580 non-sex criminals released from prisons in 11 states in 1983 found that nearly 63% were rearrested for a non-sexual felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release from incarceration; 47% were reconvicted; and 41% were ultimately returned to prison or jail (Bureau of Justice Statistics)."


(Edited for spelling)

[jamesinca]

12. They should try it out on Bush

and his brother Jeb. Give people a warning that they are coming to town. They should give the things to the Bush twins and the receivers to college frats so the frat boys know where the next sex and drug festival will be. They should put one on Neil so the S&L's know to put the closed sign up when he is in town. They should put one on Pickles so everybody knows to clear the road and avoid being hit by a drunk driver. They should put one on momma Barbara so the SPCA can put the signs out in time that say spay your bitch it is the humane thing to do.

Just a few suggestions that all.