A bill signed by Gov. Jim Doyle May 22 authorizes law enforcement to track sex offenders more closely than ever before. Assembly Bill 591 directs the Department of Corrections to use Global Positioning System surveillance to track some sex offenders for life.
The bill's author, state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said he expects 250 Wisconsin offenders to be under GPS surveillance next year. Only Chapter 980 offenders, the most dangerous abusers, will be tracked for at least 20 years. Criminals can only be taken off GPS tracking if they can prove incapacitation, such as illness or an extenuating circumstance. If an offender tampers with the device, either a $10,000 fine will be issued, or the offender will be jailed for three and a half years.
According to state Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, law enforcement and district attorneys will have a code allowing them to check the whereabouts of an offender at any given time. Also, exclusion zones, such as schools, will be programmed into the device to alarm police.
While Kleefisch said concern was raised about covering the costs for this technology, Kleefisch said he believes 'the best part of the bill' is that the sex offender himself will have to pay for GPS tracking system technology. In cases where the offender is unable to do so, the state will absorb the cost, according to Kleefisch.
Suder said the bill will make Wisconsin one of the toughest states on sex offenders and is 'leading the nation' in terms of preventing and deterring repeated offensives.
However, Jill Groblewski, spokesperson for Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said because only one-third of sexual crimes are reported and only a fraction of those arrested are convicted, sex offenders will still evade punishment.
'[The success of GPS] is going to depend upon the offender. There is no one policy that guaranteed to prevent re-offense. GPS is one tool that the Department of Corrections will be able to use. For some offenders it will work, for some it won't,' Groblewski said.
Still, both Suder and Kleefisch said the bill received heavy bipartisan support.
'For years child sex offenders have been stalking and watching our children,' Kleefisch said. 'It's about time we start watching them back.'
In addition to the GPS measure, Doyle also expanded the state's sex offender website to allow the public access to information and find out if an offender lives in their neighborhood.
