Watching every move

~ State employees test a GPS tracking system for those on probation.

@Summary Statement:By KYLE W. MORRISON

For two weeks, the wife of a Cape Girardeau police captain was under constant surveillance, her every move watched and recorded by the Division Probation and Parole.

But Marsha Fields wasn't in trouble with the law.

As part of a pilot program, several Missouri Division of Probation and Parole employees and a few select felons tested a new Global Positioning System tracking device. The system is designed to monitor people on probation for various crimes, including sex offenders and felons convicted of violent crimes.

Fields, a probation and parole officer, was one of two employees at her Cape Girardeau office who test-drove the new tracking devices.

Over a two-week period, Fields, whose husband is Cape Girardeau Capt. Roger Fields, wore an ankle bracelet and a one-pound GPS tracking device attached to her belt.

The system sets up areas where a felon can and cannot travel. For example, a sex offender is not allowed near his victim's school or home. If the felon travels too close to either, the belt unit, called a mini tracking device, begins to flash and vibrate.

"It has a lot of possibilities," said Larry Crawford, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Sex offenders, dangerous felons, domestic abusers and victim-specific offenders, such as stalkers, would be the ideal candidates for GPS tracking, Crawford said. By allowing the department to monitor the daily activities of such offenders, they would be ensuring public safety, he said.

The tracking device was first tested on administrators so they could familiarize themselves with the technology and understand what it would be like to wear one, according to Crawford.

"I violated it every way I could," Fields said. During her and her colleague's two-week experience, several zones were set up to test the system. Often, Fields said, her colleague would set up a violation zone she did not know of, forcing her to unintentionally violate the zone.

The pilot program being run in six areas throughout the state was expected to last 90 days, wrapping up in June, Crawford said.

When the program finishes, Crawford said it would be evaluated and, based on preliminary reports, would likely expand.

Currently in Cape Girardeau, one parolee is using the technology, Fields said.

The devices work like a combination of GPS tracking and cell phone technology. The ankle bracelet and GPS device work in sync, constantly communicating with each other.

A pulse goes around the bracelet every second. If that pulse is broken, such as by removing the bracelet, a signal is sent to the GPS device, which relays the signal to probation and parole officers.

If the bracelet and GPS device are more than 50 feet away from one another, another signal is sent out. This is the most likely error made, Fields said.

"It's really easy to walk out and not remember to pick this up," she said, comparing it to forgetting to take one's cell phone or wallet when leaving the house. In addition, the GPS device is bulky, something Crawford hopes will change with advances in technology.

Nightly transmission

Every night, the GPS device must be charged for eight hours. During the charging period, the device hooks up to a modem and uploads the data for the probation and parole department to later review.

Currently, the system costs between $6 and $12 a day, compared to the $2 to $3 costs for current supervision, Crawford said. This includes the equipment rental, maintenance and monitoring.

Though GPS monitoring is more expensive, Crawford said, it could eliminate current supervising procedures, including home visits.

If the governor signs the fiscal budget for next year, the department would receive about $200,000 in funding for electronic monitoring.

But the system is not without its flaws. It is difficult to monitor someone when they are inside a building, Fields said. And, like cell phones, sometimes the signal is dropped and the offender cannot be tracked at all.

"They're not 100 percent," Crawford said, quick to add that when they are working, the devices are accurate.

"I'm optimistic in the future, as costs come down, these things are going to be viable," he said.

Crawford said the system will not be able to stop felons from violating the law, but it might stop felons from committing violations when they know it will be recorded.

"This is a way for us to hold them accountable," he said.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127