“You’ll never stand-alone”: Electronic monitoring in Germany

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frieder Dünkel ◽  
Christoph Thiele ◽  
Judith Treig

Electronic monitoring (EM) in Germany is used only exceptionally in cases of high-risk offenders released from prison after fully having served a prison sentence or after release from the preventive detention measure (added to a prison sentence in cases of “dangerous” violent or sex offenders). About 70 cases on a daily total of more than 36,000 supervision of conduct cases are under global positioning system (GPS)-EM. Only in one federal state (Hesse) EM on radio frequency technology is also used to avoid pre-trial detention or in regular probation/parole cases. Numbers remain very low also in this context. EM is always combined with a probation or supervision of conduct order, which means that it is embedded in the rehabilitative work of the probation services. The German judiciary and crime policy are very reluctant to expand EM, as there is no pressure from the prison system (no overcrowding) and the “ordinary” probation service (without EM) works quite efficiently.

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 1259-1285
Author(s):  
Alyssa W. Chamberlain ◽  
Sarah M. Smith ◽  
Susan F. Turner ◽  
Jesse Jannetta

Agencies incorporating new technology inevitably face challenges in the implementation process. In response to the passage of Proposition 83, which mandated lifelong supervision of people convicted of sex offenses in California, San Diego County initiated a pilot program assessing Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring of such offenders considered high risk for reoffending. Using interviews of parole agents and administrators, parole agent records of supervision, and GPS monitoring data, we assess the challenges and lessons learned from the program which help inform the current policy context of electronic monitoring. Results show that rigorous GPS supervision involves substantial workload and resource increases for parole agencies, and may not be appropriate for all individuals convicted of sex offenses. The ethical and legal challenges of electronic monitoring, more generally, require further attention. The future of GPS monitoring will depend on how programs are implemented and resources are managed, as well as how ethical issues are addressed.


Author(s):  
Mike Nellis

In 2012, alongside its part-privatisation of the Probation Service, the Ministry of Justice secretly conceived a strategy, hubristically named ‘New World’, to upgrade ‘obsolete’ Radio Frequency (RF) electronic monitoring technology with Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking, and subject unprecedented numbers of offenders to it by 2020. Replacing the existing private sector delivery infrastructure with a hitherto untried model was pursued more openly, but obscured larger ambitions. Over five years ‘New World’ failed spectacularly, and expensively. Subsequent official audits indicted its implementation and actually questioned its conception, but neglected the ideological context and the disruptive political strategy which underpinned it. ‘New World’ was a calculated exercise in ‘disruptive’ neo-liberal statecraft, and the failure of its first iteration does not mean the end of it.


Author(s):  
Mphoeng Maureen Mswela

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) by both private and public entities for the purpose of tracking and monitoring the location of human beings. The GPS tracking application is used as a locating system to monitor, among other people, children, the elderly who suffer from Alzheimer's, and the mentally ill, for personal protection purposes. This electronic monitoring system has also found application on parolees as a law enforcement measure. In trying to track down a tangible solution to prevent and mitigate brutal attacks on persons with albinism in South Africa, this article proposes the extension of the application of the use of the Global Positioning Tracking System to persons with albinism as a strategy to halt the continued attacks against this population. Although Malawi has pioneered the use of the GPS in the context of fighting violent crimes against persons with albinism, what is unsettling to the author is the fact that no debates have taken place on the ethical and legal concerns arising from electronically tagging and tracking people with albinism; especially in view of the fact that persons with albinism are already a vulnerable and stigmatised population. Could it be that ethical issues and human rights are to be ignored when it is affirmed that technology serves the common good of protecting persons with albinism? My emphasis here is on the need for a debate on what could otherwise be a controversial application of technology. Although the purpose of the GPS is undeniably worthy, sometimes the way these devices are used can be more problematic. More challenging is the desire to justify the encroachment of any rights, as arises through using this crime prevention strategy. The use of the electronic monitoring system to tag and track persons with albinism raises crucial human rights and ethical concerns, particularly relating to the right to privacy, liberty, perhaps equality, and notably, the right to dignity. There is a need to be conscious of the possibility of the misuse of the technology and precautionary measures must be put in place. This article therefore discusses the ethical and legal issues which could arise from the electronic tagging and tracking of persons with albinism  


INTI TALAFA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaman Khaeruzzaman

Seiring dengan pesatnya kemajuan teknologi saat ini, kebutuhan manusia menjadi lebih beragam, termasuk kebutuhan akan informasi. Tidak hanya media informasinya yang semakin beragam, jenis informasi yang dibutuhkan juga semakin beragam, salah satunya adalah kebutuhan informasi akan posisi kita terhadap lingkungan sekitar. Untuk memenuhi kebutuhan itu sebuah sistem pemosisi diciptakan. Sistem pemosisi yang banyak digunakan saat ini cenderung berfokus pada lingkup ruang yang besar (global) padahal, dalam lingkup ruang yang lebih kecil (lokal) sebuah sistem pemosisi juga diperlukan, seperti di ruang-ruang terbuka umum (taman atau kebun), ataupun dalam sebuah bangunan. Sistem pemosisi lokal yang ada saat ini sering kali membutuhkan infrastruktur yang mahal dalam pembangunannya. Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal Berbasis Android dengan Menggunakan GPS ini adalah sebuah aplikasi yang dibangun untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pengguna akan informasi lokasi dan posisi mereka terhadap lingkungan di sekitarnya dalam lingkup ruang yang lebih kecil (lokal) dengan memanfaatkan perangkat GPS (Global Positioning System) yang telah tertanam dalam perangkat smartphone Android agar infrastruktur yang dibutuhkan lebih efisien. Dalam implementasinya, Aplikasi Pemosisi Lokal ini bertindak sebagai klien dengan dukungan sebuah Database Server yang berfungsi sebagai media penyimpanan data serta sumber referensi informasi yang dapat diakses melalui jaringan internet sehingga tercipta sebuah sistem yang terintegrasi secara global. Kata kunci: aplikasi, informasi, pemosisi, GPS.


Author(s):  
Violet Bassey Eneyo

This paper examines the distribution of hospitality services in Uyo Urban, Nigeria. GIS method was the primary tool used for data collection. A global positioning system (GPS) Garmin 60 model was used in tracking the location of 102 hospitality services in the study area. One hypothesis was stated and tested using the nearest neighbour analysis. The finding shows evidence of clustering of the various hospitality services. The tested hypothesis further indicated that hospitality services clustered in areas that guarantee a sustainable level of patronage to maximize profit. Thus, the hospitality services clustered in selected streets in the metropolis while limited numbers were found outside the city’s central area.


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