Keeping close tabs at a distance

Technology now makes it possible for a teenager who attempts to shoplift a pair of earrings to end up with a bracelet instead.

That's an electronic ankle bracelet -- not a fashion statement, but a relatively inexpensive way for the 32nd Judicial Circuit Juvenile Division to keep track of juvenile offenders without housing them in the detention center.

The bracelet is for those who are not considered violent or high risk. Teenagers arrested for shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, first-time burglary, marijuana possession, or who are runaways can be put on surveillance if their parents sign a contract with the juvenile court and have a land-line telephone.

If the juvenile judge orders electronic surveillance, then the juvenile is fitted with a black ankle bracelet fastened with a transmitter. Inside the rubbery bracelet are 100 small wires wrapped into one cord that activates the transmitter. The bracelet does not shrink or stretch, and it's difficult to cut, although that has been tried, said deputy juvenile officer Krystal McLane.

"If it's been messed with, we will know about it," she said. "We will get a read-back on the computer. We had a couple of kids try to outsmart us and cut it off. One tried to burn it off. He got a lot of blisters."

Teens are told from the outset that if they damage the bracelet or the transmitter in any way, criminal charges will be filed against them and their parents will be responsible for the replacement cost. And the teens will land back in the detention center.

The wires in the bracelet are sharp when cut, McLane said, and will easily puncture skin. The battery in the transmitter is low-enough voltage, she said, that getting it wet doesn't present a shock hazard.

Bottom line: Once it's on, it stays on until the court orders it to come off. Most teens wear it for 30 days until their next court date. Some have worn it for as long as 120 days.

While the bracelet is on, it does not shock the juvenile, does not take photographs, does not record conversations. It just records the juvenile's whereabouts and alerts authorities if he's not where he should be.

$3.75 a day vs. $75 a day

According to McLane, it costs $3.75 a day to keep a teenager under electronic surveillance. To house a teen at the detention center, said juvenile officer Randy Rhodes, costs around $75 a day.

"Not only does it save on up-front costs," Rhodes said. "It also saves on liability when a child is supervised by his parents rather than the detention center. It's nice to have them at home if at all possible."

Teenagers who have been to juvenile detention before would agree with that, officers say.

"Most kids have had a taste of detention," said deputy juvenile officer James Beasley. "It's not Candyland down there."

The teenagers are allowed to go to school, counseling sessions and church under juvenile court supervision while being monitored. Other than that, they're supposed to be at home. If they venture away from home, even into the yard, the juvenile office is alerted, and the teen is immediately taken off the monitor and brought to the detention center.

"We allow two and a half hours for church, and we know when school times are," McLane said. "They call and let us know when their counseling appointments are. If they go anywhere else without permission, it's considered a violation."

It's nearly impossible to fool the system, officers said.

A juvenile won't get away with going to school long enough to be counted present for the day and then skipping. The juvenile officers can drive by the school holding up a device called a wand. If it doesn't connect with the transmitters, that will be noted.

The officers say they don't have to spend much time keeping track of the teens under their watch.

"Most kids have been pretty good," Beasley said. "They don't want to go back to detention."

McLane said that in the past month, three under her supervision have violated the agreement. She has about 10 cases per month. And since the office began using the electronic surveillance in 1997, only one bracelet has disappeared. Beasley said he knows it's somewhere in an eight-acre field; the wand beeps whenever he passes by.

Monitoring alcohol use

The juvenile office uses the same technology to do random checks on teens with alcohol abuse problems. An instrument called a Sobrietor hooks up to the same monitoring device that links the electronic bracelet to juvenile's family telephone. The teen blows into the Sobrietor, registering his blood alcohol level.

The Sobrietor is not sophisticated enough to detect illegal drug use, McLane said, but it can detect whether a juvenile has used alcohol, even if it's in cough syrup. It can detect a blood alcohol level as low as 0.015.

The Sobrietor is also connected to the family telephone, and is programmed to recognize the juvenile offender's voice and heartbeat pattern -- so he can't get someone else to blow into it for him. The teen has a schedule for using the Sobrietor, and the officers also do random testing.

Whether checking on a troubled teen's drinking or keeping track of his whereabouts, electronic surveillance saves money and effort.

"It helps me monitor my caseload," McLane said. "Once we start monitoring, there's little else we have to do but get a readout."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160