|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2008
Back to News
 
Rafferty Joins Auditor General to Call for GPS Monitoring of
Sex Offenders
(Harrisburg) – State Sen. John Rafferty, Jr. (R-44) joined state Auditor
General Jack Wagner today to call for Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring
of convicted sex offenders.
The proposal is aimed at further strengthening Pennsylvania's Megan's Law,
which protects children and communities by requiring convicted sex offenders to
register their names and addresses on the publically accessible Megan's Law web
site (www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us/).
Senator John Rafferty and Senator Jane Orie (R-40) are sponsoring legislation
to require the use of GPS for individuals determined to be sexually violent
predators; sex offenders who have been convicted of a subsequent sex offense
after having been required to register; and individuals required to register
under Megan's Law and who have been convicted of failure to comply.
"This is part of an ongoing process to protect the children of this
Commonwealth," Rafferty said. "It amazes me that a person can drive into
Philadelphia and use his or her vehicle GPS unit to locate open parking spots
but for some reason we still don't widely use this same technology to track
pedophiles who seek to harm our children. It makes no sense to me and it needs
to change as soon as possible."
The New Jersey State Parole Board recently issued a report concerning the GPS
Monitoring of Sex Offenders Pilot Project Act. The board concluded that: "GPS
monitoring has contributed to a significantly lower recidivism rate than
nationwide data indicates for high-risk sex offenders. The monitoring also
provides an invaluable resource for investigations, by providing data that can
be compared with the times and places of new sex crimes."
Under the legislation GPS tracking would be done by either the body
supervising the individual's probation or parole or by the Pennsylvania State
Police. It would be a criminal offense to tamper with or remove the GPS device.
Senators Rafferty and Orie are also sponsoring Senate Bill 1130 to require
Pennsylvania to implement the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, which seeks to
create a national sex offender registry available on the Internet as well as
uniform enforcement.
Contact:
Sean Moll
(717) 787-1398
| 