Commmunity Corrections Centres may Adopt GPS

In a bid to effectively monitor offenders and accused criminals, some centers have been considering adopting the GPS to replace the current electronic monitoring system. Many like the Winnipeg police are now eyeing the option of placing GPS-containing bracelets on high-risk sex offenders as well as perpetrators of domestic violence who continually violate non-contact orders. Young repeat car thieves in that city are already wearing GPS monitors as part of a year-long pilot project.

Commenting on the current EM system, the director of community corrections with Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, Carol Fieldelleck, said in a statement "We really, really like what we've got going right now and the company and the product that we're using is very, very reliable. We're really pleased. The comments I'm getting from the staff who actually work in this area are very, very positive. When the contract expires is when we can say we'll be doing some investigation and some analysis in terms of where we want to take this."

She however admitted that technology's changing and they might explore other better options available including GPS.

Also, the spokeswoman of the Regina Police Service, Elizabeth Popowich, hopes that the Province will consider moving towards GPS, both as a way to help reassure victims and to help police do their jobs. "From our perspective, anything that would help to locate and apprehend someone who's breached conditions is a positive thing and certainly GPS capability would let us know where the bracelet is, and so as long as it's still on the individual, then it gives you an advantage in locating that person. And if you know where the individual is -- for instance if the condition is that they are not within 1,000 feet of a particular address or something like that -- there's also a possibility that there could be an intervention before something bad occurs. And so rather than being reactive, it may have the capability of allowing police to be proactive," she said.