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State to alter sex offender tracking
May 28, 2011
"Buried under a wave of electronic data, California parole agents next week will significantly change how they monitor and respond to alarms from tracking devices released sex offenders wear, The Associated Press has learned.
An internal California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation report found that parole agents spend 44 percent of their workweeks reviewing the computer-tracked movements of parolees, and just 12 percent in the field.
They'll get some relief Wednesday, when the companies that sell the satellite-linked ankle bracelets will begin screening the tens of thousands of electronic alarms that flood in each month. The companies will forward the most serious alerts to parole agents and weed out more mundane problems such as low battery or lost cellphone signal.
Corrections officials fear parole agents' lack of personal contact can embolden released sex offenders to harass their previous victims or commit new crimes. They are seeking to minimize the sort of information fatigue that inadvertently helped paroled rapist Phillip Garrido keep Jaycee Dugard captive outside Antioch for 18 years....."
More at link
State to alter sex offender tracking
May 28, 2011
"Buried under a wave of electronic data, California parole agents next week will significantly change how they monitor and respond to alarms from tracking devices released sex offenders wear, The Associated Press has learned.
An internal California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation report found that parole agents spend 44 percent of their workweeks reviewing the computer-tracked movements of parolees, and just 12 percent in the field.
They'll get some relief Wednesday, when the companies that sell the satellite-linked ankle bracelets will begin screening the tens of thousands of electronic alarms that flood in each month. The companies will forward the most serious alerts to parole agents and weed out more mundane problems such as low battery or lost cellphone signal.
Corrections officials fear parole agents' lack of personal contact can embolden released sex offenders to harass their previous victims or commit new crimes. They are seeking to minimize the sort of information fatigue that inadvertently helped paroled rapist Phillip Garrido keep Jaycee Dugard captive outside Antioch for 18 years....."
More at link
