GPS Tracking ROI

It’s no secret I very much favor using GPS tracking to monitor criminals … of all shapes and sizes.  See

GPS and the ‘Hood — And Why I think It’s a Good Idea 

and

Business case for GPS Criminal Tracking 

for just a few samples.

A very sad fact that emerged last month and was pretty well hidden in the news of still more bombings and deaths in Iraq (after all those years of assurances) and the crashing of the US dollar round the world (do you think there’s a connection between Vietnam Redux Iraq and the depressed US economy?  naw ..))… anyway the fact I was alluding to is that more than 4 out of every 100 Americans are in jail or on parole.  That makes the criminal justice system a larger employer than Wal*Mart and McDonalds rolled together.  Staggering.  And we don’t seem to be getting any smarter.  See this link for the complete article:

… Global positioning devices monitoring adult criminals in Nova Scotia are not used on young offenders, a legislative committee heard Wednesday in Halifax…

Why not?  Where is prevention more appropriate than at a younger, more "moldable" age?

… A senior corrections official said the province is thinking of using such devices as ankle bracelets on young people. The devices are used to locate the whereabouts of adults on house arrest or probation.

But an opposition MLA said electronic supervision devices should be slapped on young offenders starting at about age 15.

New Democrat Graham Steele said perhaps if such a device had been attached to a 17-year-old boy charged in the stabbing death of Paul Charles Lawrence Saunders in Halifax about two weeks ago, police could have kept tabs on him before a murder was committed….

Ah, the answer from a "senior corrections official" .. we don’t do that because we don’t do that.  A good reason indeed.  let’s see, the use of a device already owned and used could have :

1. Saved the victim from being stabbed to death
2. Saved the perpetrator from becoming another sad felony statistic

But we don’t do it this way because, well, "that isn’t what the units are for".  The government mind at its finest.

… The teenager, who has a criminal record dating back almost two years, was on probation, including a curfew, when he was picked up after Mr. Saunders died of wounds sustained in an attack in an apartment building.

Mr. Steele, MLA for Halifax Fairview, said if global positioning locators work the way they’re supposed to, "I don’t see why you wouldn’t use a GPS unit" on an older teenager. …

Frankly, Mr. Steele, I certainly don’t see why not either … and I doubt that Mr. Saunders … who is no longer around to render his opinion would have objected either.  The perpetrator?  He might have objected, but has he had one he likely wouldn’t now be facing up to 80 years or so in jail.  "He’s guilty, we got him, he’ll get his now."  Yes, but at what cost?

When a teen commits a crime it’s a pretty sure sign she or he is not going to follow societies rules … the die is already cast.  As I see it, we have two choices:

• Do something to prevent the situation getting worse.  This is cheaper, by far to society in general and certainly of some benefit to the offender … better one crime on his record that 100.
• Sit back and watch while she or he commits further crimes, typically escalating into more and more violent ones, until the teen winds up as a senior citizen in jail, supported by the tax payer dollar and at the loss of all the talent for good she might have been blessed with at birth.

It’s pretty important, in my view, that law enforcement do what it can do to protect the ordinary citizen.  When a technology comes onboard that is proven to save money, save lives, and reduce the disastrous waste we have made of our justice system/prison industries, I can’t see many reasons not to use it … what’s your excuse?