I Know These Guys Weren’t Born Dumb — Could GPS Make Them A Bit Smarter?

Kamloops Mounties nab newly released sex offender

Violent criminal spotted in Ashcroft after allegedly breaking curfew

Ethan Baron, The Province

Published: Thursday, August 31, 2006

A high-risk sex offender led police on a long, high-speed chase after he allegedly broke his curfew in Cache Creek and was then spotted in Kamloops.

Police issued a warning last weekend about Jeffrey Michael Gates, 48, after he was released from jail.

Gates, who has a history of sex offences against women and girls going back to 1987, had served six months for stealing booze from a beer-and-wine store in Cache Creek.

On Tuesday, an Ashcroft Mountie made a 9 p.m. spot check on the Cache Creek house where Gates was living under a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and found him absent.  Read full article here:

As you know I’ve posted about the value of GPS tracking devices for sex offenders many time here.  And when I talk about value, I don’t only mean the prevention of future crimes … although that’s a big consideration.  I’m talking about the actual dollars and cents of savings to law enforcement in keeping track of these creepy guys.

Now you’ll have to read this story for yourself to figure out why a guy so violent and convicted of so many previous sex crimes was released after serving time on some sort of minor liquor purchase offence.  I don’t know Canadian law that well and maybe there were circumstances that made it impossible for the prosecutor to nail this weasel on a charge that would have kept him in the pen for the time he deserved.

But he was released, with authorities knowing full-well how dangerous and uncooperative he was with nothing more to hold him than a parole ruling that he had to be at his home from 6 pm to 6 am.  frankly, if his crimes weren’t so serious I’d give  a hearty laugh at that … if I want to commit rape you think I’m not going to be in the mood at 7 am watching young girls going off to school or at 3 pm when I know they’re home alone?  But again, I can’t vouch for the logic here.

I can vouch, however, for the fact that sending officer’s to a parolee’s home to monitor his curfew is mighty cost and time intensive.  And when they get to his home (”Hey, would you guys maybe bring me a pizza and some beer since you’re on your way here anyway”?) and find he’s not there all hell breaks loose.

After a dangerous and expensive pursuit they captured this clown … thank God no one was hurt and he didn’t get to molest some other woman before the police got him …. but what law enforcement agency can afford this kind of service.

A simple GPS bracelet would have automatically “told” on him when he left home and it would have let the police find him and apprehend him without any high speed chase.  So much simpler, so much more e3ffectibve and so much CHEAPER than the goat rope they went through.

This guy Bruce Bannerman of the B.C. Corrections Branch really takes the cake with me as someone who absolutely misses the whole picture.  Telling rightfully concerned women that GPS technology is over-rated because it could only tell officers where the guy is, and not if he was committing an offence.  Earth to Bruce … his offence was roaming the province while he was supposed to be home under curfew.  D’oh?