| In a statement released this week, Schwarzenegger said paroled sex offenders who remove their tracking devices “pose a threat to public safety, and the department must take every necessary step to eliminate that threat, including making sure the public is aware of these individuals.”
The need for more extensive public notification came about after recent incidents involving sex offenders removing their tracking bracelets, the governor's office said.
Corrections officials already alert local law enforcement authorities whenever parolees try to slip away, the governor's office said. An automated Web-based system provides law enforcement with photos and information about the parolees.
Prisons chief Matthew Cate said in a statement that his agency would immediately begin developing a system to notify the media and public when a sex offender tries to escape.
Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the agency is working on developing and implementing methods to notify the public about sex offenders who escape.
As of July 1, there were 7,167 parolees on GPS monitoring, Thornton said. Of those, 6,623 are paroled sex offenders, while the remaining 544 are gang members, according to Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation statistics.
Thornton said that 20 to 60 times a month a parolee on GPS monitoring will manage to remove the device. Removing the device is “not easy,” and requires “some effort,” Thornton said.
By trying to remove the device, “it is obvious they are trying to avoid parolee supervision,” and that becomes a public safety concern, Thornton said. |
