Last May, Gov. Jim Doyle signed a Republican-sponsored bill requiring post-release global position system tracking of certain serious sex offenders. The law—which received almost unanimous bipartisan support—mandates lifetime GPS tracking for anyone convicted in Wisconsin of intercourse with a child less than 12 years old or forcible intercourse with a child under 16 years.
The 2006 GPS law is an outgrowth of Doyle's 2005 Sex Offender Apprehension and Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Initiative and part of a national wave of legislation since the early 1990s to crack down on child sex predators. It is also part of a national wave of attention—some would say hysteria—directed at child sexual abuse, which has resulted in anathematizing child sexual predators and restricting their freedom.
As part of his SAFE Initiative, Doyle authorized the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Family Services to use GPS to monitor dangerous sexual offenders while under state supervision. In introducing the initiative, Doyle also encouraged the creation of legislation to track dangerous sex offenders even after their release from parole. The 2006 GPS law is the result.
Unfortunately, neither the state Legislature nor the governor adequately considered the cost of implementing the legislation.
At an estimated cost of $8-12 per day for each person, GPS monitoring of hundreds of sex offenders for life—among Wisconsin's total population of 18,000 sex offenders—could get expensive. Now, under pressure to balance the budget, Doyle wants to limit implementation of the recent GPS law to paroled offenders only.
Ideally, Doyle should have calculated this cost before he signed the bill into law.
Nevertheless, it is commendable that Doyle is willing to re-evaluate the GPS program rather than cut more necessary and proven programs.
Controlling dangerous sex offenders is important, of course. However, GPS tracking is not a panacea. Dangerous criminals who have egregiously violated the law are not the best candidates for complying with a GPS monitoring program.
Going against universally popular legislation to control sex criminals is nearly impossible for any politician today. However, the state Legislature and governor should act with greater foresight when enacting future legislation—by making sure there's money to fund their grand ideas.
