A pilot program in Connecticut USA that requires high-risk domestic violence offenders to wear GPS ankle bracelets is proving to be highly successful.
Connecticut has an average of fifteen domestic violence deaths a year and no one in the program has been killed or injured since it began in 2010.
Domestic Violence Agencies have described it “as a really strong intervention and works well in very high-risk cases for keeping victims safe.”
The system requires a magistrate or judge to order the offender to wear the GPS device and the victim is given a corresponding GPS device. If the offender gets within 1500 meters of the victim, the victim is notified, and if the offender gets within 750 meters, the victim and local police are alerted.
The plan originally required offenders to pay for their own GPS devices.
VOCCS would like to financially sponsor any organization able to produce a similar cost effective GPS System for use within Australia.
About the author