Report EM 2005 - E - CEP, the European Organisation for Probation

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He then explained how the technology worked. Tracking used objects such as satellites or radio masts which transmitted signals containing time and location data. The offender carried a personal tracking device which received satellite or other signals and calculated its own location. The tracking device transmitted location data to a control centre either in real time (active tracking), or retrospectively (passive tracking) or some combination of the two (hybrid tracking). He said that in active tracking, the tracking device contained GSM or GPRS technology allowing the immediate transmission of location data. This enabled a quick response to violations, but with higher telecommunications costs and possibly additional staff costs depending on the procedures used. In passive tracking, the location data was not transmitted in real time but was stored and transmitted retrospectively when the tracking device was attached to a telephone line. This was cheaper to operate, but the location data was generally not available to supervisors until the next day. And in hybrid tracking, the tracking device was capable of behaving in active mode, but as long as the offender was compliant the device behaved in passive mode and transmitted data retrospectively. If the offender violated the tracking conditions, for example by entering a prohibited area, the tracking device would transmit the violation in real time and would switch to active mode until the violation was cleared. Whatever the mode of transmission, the end product was a detailed map showing the offender’s movements while tracked. Turning to the uses of tracking, he said that its most obvious application was to monitor compliance with specific requirements, for example to observe a curfew, stay out of an exclusion zone, or attend specified programmes or other activities. The supervisor could fill the offender’s schedule with requirements and monitor them all using tracking. Tracking could in theory be used to watch an offender’s movements all the time, as they happen. But if it was necessary to know where people were 24 hours a day, surely they should be in prison anyway. And to have one person watching a screen all day would be extremely staff-intensive. Alternatively, location data could be useful to suppliers in managing offender programmes. The data could be useful to the police in confirming offender involvement in other crimes – or eliminating them from the investigation. And the sense of being watched might potentially deter offenders from further crimes. He then discussed some of the issues arising from tracking. First, the tracking device. This clearly had to stay with the offender for the duration of the tracking. This could be achieved with either a one-piece or a two-piece device. Each solution had its advantages and disadvantages. 10
Second, the battery. The tracking device was battery-powered and needed recharging overnight. Two questions arose: how long does it take to recharge And how long does the battery last before it needs recharging Third, the limitations of GPS. In ideal conditions it could be very accurate. But it did not work underground or indoors; even outdoors the signal could be patchy; and sometimes the signal was inaccurate (GPS drift). All of this reduced confidence in GPS and made agencies less likely to use it. Fourth, the cost. In England and Wales, tracking was still much more expensive than standard RF monitoring. This ruled out national implementation in the near future, or its use on a large scale anywhere. So although tracking could do everything that RF monitoring could do and more, it was not going to replace RF monitoring where it was used at present. And fifth, public expectations. Tracking was capable of so much – but it did not have the incapacitative effect of prison. There would be a disaster in the making if a child sex offender slipped the leash and abducted a child. Tracking worked best as a means of supporting other interventions. Public and private expectations of tracking had to be managed. In conclusion, he told the audience that in 2004 the previous Home Secretary, David Blunkett, had described tracking as “the future of electronic monitoring”. The Home Secretary might have been right, but there was still a gap between what the technology could deliver and what its users wanted it to do; and between what it cost and what could be afforded. For the present, all that could be done was to try it out on a small scale and see how well it worked. 4.2.2 Tracking pilots in England 2004/05 Steve Birkett, Satellite Tracking Project Manager Steve Birkett took the conference through the detail of the current pilots of satellite tracking in England. These were taking place in three areas: Greater Manchester, Hampshire and the West Midlands. The preparation for the pilot had followed the normal lines, with a business case, an approach for funding, discussions with the proposed pilot areas and the service providers, testing the equipment, and obtaining approval to proceed from Home Office Ministers. The project team also prepared documentation for the pilots, including a Statement of Requirements; a note on service processes; guidance to practitioners; guidance to the courts; a leaflet for offenders; and a leaflet for victims and parents or carers. He then gave some statistics. As at mid-May 2005, a total of 153 offenders had been placed on tracking in the pilots. Of these, 35 cases had successfully completed, 64 cases had been terminated, and 54 were still being tracked, including 4 sex offenders. 11
Page 1 and 2: ELECTRONIC MONITORING REPORT ON 4TH
Page 3 and 4: 1. INTRODUCTION The fourth European
Page 5 and 6: 3. INTRODUCTORY SESSIONS 3.1 Electr
Page 7 and 8: information about EM. There were al
Page 9 and 10: Israel, the Isle of Man and the Sta
Page 11: Looking ahead, he thought that futu
Page 15 and 16: More generally, there was a questio
Page 17 and 18: 5.3 Electronic monitoring in an imm
Page 19 and 20: 5.5 Analysing net-widening in the c
Page 21 and 22: was more likely to have a strong fu
Page 23 and 24: 7. CLOSING THE CONFERENCE 7.1 Summi
Page 25 and 26: FINAL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 4 th EUR
Page 27 and 28: Service penitentiaire d'insertion e
Page 29 and 30: Reclassering Nederland Mr. Arturo B
Page 31 and 32: Scottish Executive Ms. Susan WILTSH
Page 33 and 34: Northern Kentucky University Regent
Page 35: University of Leeds School of Law D

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