Monitoring Tennessee's Sex Offenders Using GPS Systems: A Follow-up Evaluation

September 2008:

Introduction
Governor Bredesen signed Senate Bill 2235/House Bill 2314 that took effect on July 1, 2007 authorizing the Board of Probation and Parole (hereinafter referred to as BOPP) to continuously monitor offenders convicted of rape of a child using global positioning systems (GPS) for the remainder of their life. This act has been referred to as “Jessica’s Law.” Since passage of this act, BOPP has made GPS monitoring a mandatory condition of community supervision for ALL offenders convicted of rape of a child, with the exception of those who are currently incapacitated.

The passage of Jessica’s Law expanded BOPP’s global positioning system pilot project to a statewide endeavor. Because the legislation expanded the project statewide, it had a fiscal impact on BOPP. Specifically, expansion of the project required additional positions and the associated costs that extended beyond prior project appropriations. A total of $1,890,900 was added to BOPP’s base budget (funding a total of 46 positions) in fiscal year 2007-08. These dollars were in addition to the $1,235,000 that was already part of BOPP’s base budget to fund the operational cost of GPS. The $1,235,000 was added to the base budget in fiscal year 2004-05.

In the fiscal year 08-09 budget, funding for both the statewide expansion of GPS monitoring for rape of a child offenders (Jessica’s Law) totaling $1,890,900, and the appropriation for operating costs, totaling $1,235,000, were made non-recurring. BOPP requested a budgetary improvement (see Appendix A) to restore those dollars to recurring status in BOPP’s base budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. The 46 positions established with the Jessica’s Law appropriation have been filled and the new staff has successfully expanded the original GPS pilot project to a statewide monitoring program for those sex offenders with the highest risk to the public. The total requested includes the $1,235,000 operational funding, the $1,890,900 Jessica’s Law appropriation, and $181,000, the cost of funding the three percent raise received since the appropriation was made (based on the position costs listed in the Department of Human Resource’s classification/compensation plan).

In reviewing the overall GPS supervision program, BOPP recommends the continuation of GPS as a supervision tool. A detailed analysis of the benefits and limitations associated with GPS monitoring follows.

For the remainder of this paper: by State of Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole

Electronic Monitoring Expanded to Target Communities’ More Dangerous Offenders

November 2007:

Scope:
In accordance with state law, this progress report informs the Legislature of actions taken by the Department of Corrections in response to a 2005 OPPAGA report. 1, 2 This report presents our assessment of the extent to which the department has addressed the findings and recommendations included in our report and examines the department’s current use of electronic monitoring.

Background:
The Department of Corrections’ Office of Community Corrections is responsible for supervising approximately 150,000 offenders living in communities throughout Florida. The department uses electronic monitoring as a tool to enhance surveillance of selected offenders under community supervision. On June 30, 2007, the department had 1,415 offenders under electronic surveillance, representing 1.2% of the offenders under active supervision in the community. 3

At the time of our 2005 report, the department used three types of electronic monitoring: an active Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, a passive GPS system, and a Radio Frequency system. The active GPS system tracks offender movements in real time and identifies offenders who enter specified exclusion zones, such as schools or public parks. When these violations occur an alarm notification is sent to the monitoring center and the offender’s probation officer. The passive GPS system tracks offender movements but not in real time; each day the offender’s probation officer receives reports of the previous day’s movement. The radio frequency monitoring system uses an offender’s landline telephone to monitor whether the offender is home at required times. As of June 30, 2007, most (89%) monitored offenders were supervised with the active GPS system.

In Fiscal Year 2006-07 the department paid vendors approximately $2.9 million to track 1,814 offenders. For Fiscal Year 2007-08, the Legislature appropriated $7,392,936 for electronic monitoring.

For the remainder of this paper: by OPPAGA supports the Florida Legislature by providing evaluative research and objective analyses to promote government accountability and the efficient and effective use of public resources.