GPS Monitoring Triggers Privacy Concerns
As a result of a drug conviction last year, Cobus must wear an ankle monitoring device that uses GPS (Global Positioning System) monitoring. This technology allows law enforcement officials to continuously track offenders like Cobus.The GPS monitoring device displays high-quality maps detailing street by street information on each offender being tracked. The technology also makes it possible to contact an offender at anytime through cellular communication. Officers use a hand-held GPS monitoring device and a cellular phone that displays the offender"s GPS location on detailed digital maps.
Many in law enforcement are pushing to use the GPS monitoring technology in more ways to protect the public. One use under consideration is the monitoring of domestic violence offenders. Just as a GPS device can find a lost driver, it can also alert police when a domestic violence offender enters a restricted zone, like the area surrounding a victim"s home or office.
But many question whether outfitting a convicted batterer for such purpose is a violation of one"s civil liberties. Can law enforcement track an offender because of a suspicion that he/she might violate a protective order? And what about the legality of monitoring the offender when he is in any area that isn"t a part of a protective order. Is it legal to use GPS monitoring of a person at the grocery store? Or in their own home?
These are questions currently being explored in court cases throughout the country. While some justices seem alarmed at the privacy implications, others have found the monitoring to be proper.