Tracking Sex Offenders with GPS

One of the most disturbing, if not the most disturbing, crimes in our society is the sexual predator. Most heinous of course is the pedophile. I've been researching the existing GPS tracking for sex offenders over the last few days and have found many disturbing and some interesting things.

The disturbing things didn't necessarily surprise me. Consider these facts taken from the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault website (http://www.taasa.org/sex_offenders/default.php).

• 
  Registered sex offenders represent only a small portion of the actual sex offenders living in our communities. Research has shown the majority of individuals who abuse sexually will not end up in the criminal justice system.3
  


• Sex offenders are an extremely heterogeneous mixture and do not fit into a standard profile but fall into numerous categories, from the voyeur, exhibitionist, statutory offender, incest offender, the pedophile, the rapists, the sexual sadist, sexual murderers, to the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP).
  


• Persons who abuse sexually are male and female and come from all socioeconomic and racial groups. Most sex offending begins during adolescence. Typology categories should be used with extreme caution because many sex offenders crossover to different victims and can fall into multiple categories.
  

I am conservative in regards to most things politically, socially, and economically. I abhor the increase of government control in the taxpayer's life. I strongly support the right to bear arms for more than just hunting, and I dislike the idea of the government being able to track a citizen's movements. However, given the empirical data available with regard to sex offenders, I believe there is a place for tracking sex offenders via GPS. Do a search for "Sex offender statistics". You just might be amazed.

The interesting thing to me is the view of TAASA towards GPS tracking. On their website, the TAASA disagrees with the effectiveness of GPS as a deterrent to sexually predatorily activity. This is about the only point on which I disagree with the group. (You can find their well presented article about "Jessica's Law" at http://www.taasa.org/latest_news/jessicas_law.php.) While I understand their point that GPS tracking might give someone a false sense of security about a sexual predator's behavior, there are still positive benefits to having sex offenders tracked. For instance, even if a GPS unit does not prevent a crime as the crime could happen in a location where the offender is expected to be, the GPS records could prove that the perpetrator was at the location of the crime. This would improve the opportunity of convicting the offender. Additionally, it is quite possible that a sexual predator that preys on children he or she does not know will be deterred from frequenting locations that might be tempting such as schools, parks, and other kid-friendly locations. It could also give authorities a head start finding the victim and offender once a crime is reported.

The positives of tracking sex offenders with GPS are obvious to me. However, the sited drawback is the cost. That is an easily solved problem. MAKE THE OFFENDER PAY FOR THE MONITORING! The choice could be very simple and is given in some instances to convicted DWI offenders. 1. Go to jail. 2. Pay for monitoring. The other obstacle is that GPS can be disabled or have issues. This is true. It is not a perfect technology. However, it is possible, with the use of vehicle tracking as a secondary option, that offenders who use their cars can still be caught.

I know the problem is very complex and there is no singular solution. But, given the seriousness, the empirical data, and the opportunity to protect our children, it has to be considered.

Keep safe,

Steven Van Ooyen

CTO - Track What Matters

Tracking Employees in Your Vehicles

It was brought to my attention this week that I haven't talked much, if any, about the benefits of GPS tracking for fleets. Well, I can't argue with that. So, let me tell you a story we recently heard.

A local company installed a GPS tracking system and told their drivers about it. Of course, the drivers knew that completely disconnecting the device would send an alert to management. So, they did not dare to do that. Instead, this pair of less-than-highly-motivated employees purchased a large magnet and placed that magnet over the GPS antenna. Unfortunately for these 2 employees, their little scheme failed to disable the GPS unit and it was discovered that the pair was simply leaving the office daily and parking. I hope their card games (or whatever they did to occupy that time) were worth their pentions. Both were 4 years from getting a full retirement.

Anyone who has managed people, white collar or blue collar, knows that employees often look for ways to improve their own situation at the expense of the company. Whether it is employee theft, endless hours of solitaire on the PC, or taking a company vehicle somewhere it should not go, companies lose an unbelievable amount of money yearly do to lack of productivity and theft. One article I found states that employee theft of small businesses totals $40 billion yearly. The same article states that 30% or workers in America will steal at some time in their careers. Wow! Anyone have 3 or more employees?

I've had employees working for me consistently over the last 14 years. During that time, I have never had an employee that was free of the need for supervision. The great thing about GPS tracking is that, for the most part, it can be used for numerous legitimate reasons other than just ensuring your employees are where they say they are. With the added benefits of fuel cost reductions, route verification, mileage logging, and more, loss of morale that might arise from the installation of a GPS fleet tracking system can be completely avoided.

We would all like to think that our employees are upstanding citizens who would never steal or cheat us out of money. If that is true for you, you have beaten the odds. But, chances are, if you knew the whole truth, you might find otherwise. So, we can take our chances or take control.

Take care,


Steven Van Ooyen

CTO