The ravages of domestic abuse never fade. Forty years after my escape from a marriage that nearly took my life, the emotional scars are still visible. Remarried, I’m good at playing the part of confident woman, happy wife and blessed mother. Most of the time, the act doesn’t take much effort. Time has honed my performance skills.
In my recent past, going to the post office or grocery store solo was a major accomplishment. Leaving the house after dark alone – well, that’s a work in progress. Pumping gasoline is still difficult because I feel exposed and vulnerable while waiting for the tank to fill. Seldom do I let the gauge go under the half way mark. “An ounce of prevention,” as Ben Franklin advised us, “is worth a pound of cure.” Far too many abused women have learned the painful fact that a “cure” is rarely possible.
As if my brush with domestic abuse wasn’t bad enough, in 2007 my then 27-year old daughter was kidnapped, beaten and repeatedly raped by a maintenance man who worked in the apartment complex where she lived. He used a master key to gain entrance and tortured her for over three hours. Miraculously, she survived. Her assailant is serving a life sentence for his crime, but, as we all know, in the criminal justice system “life” does not necessarily mean until a convicted felon stops breathing. Needless to say, I am a major proponent of anything that will protect women and children from the very real possibility of pain and/or death that is too often their fate.
Recently, I read with great interest about Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) used for tracking/monitoring violent offenders. According to an article on abuse, twenty-three states are using GPS technology to track assailants. By the latest statistics, the total number of individuals being so monitored is over 5000. That means a lot of women and children are living in fear of their lives on a daily basis.
Among the states that have adopted this technology are Missouri, Wisconsin, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Florida. The State of Florida, where my daughter was attacked, requires mandatory lifetime tracking for perpetrators of crimes against children under the age of 11. Wisconsin also mandates lifetime GPS monitoring for repeat child predators.
Based on numerous studies, it has been determined that parolees are less likely to assault another person when they know they are being tracked. Since many experts believe that a predilection toward rape and pedophilia is incurable, lifetime monitoring of repeat offenders should be the norm – not the exception – in all fifty states no matter the age of the victim.
Research showed that not all GPS tracking/monitoring systems are alike. Different systems offer varying levels of protection and, depending on whom you are talking to, different interpretations of tracking/monitoring. Most companies that manufacture these systems advertise that their control centers are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Technically, that’s true. There is, however, a caveat not as readily offered.
Tracking merely allows parole/probation officers to see where an offender was when a warning message was sent to their “In box” – not where that offender is at the present moment. An hour or more might pass before that warning is retrieved and, by then, the offender may already have committed another crime. Monitoring is done in “real time,” meaning an offender is never out of sight. “We’re looking at you!”
In reviewing the levels of protection offered by electronic supervision, I learned that all manufacturers of GPS monitoring systems claim to offer full service but many skew the definition of “real time.” Only the immediate transmission of a warning will allow sufficient opportunity to take precautionary measures. Anything less is 59 minutes too late!
If you or a child in your care have been a victim of abuse, contact your local authorities to find out if GPS technology is available in your area. Should the answer be yes, demand to know what kind and be prepared to fight for real time monitoring, if necessary.
If GPS is not being used to track repeat offenders, find an advocacy group to work with toward that end. The life you save could be your own or that of someone you love.
It should be noted that the use of GPS in family court, i.e. divorce/child custody/spousal abuse, is still sporadic. Judges seem to favor restraining orders in cases where the threat of violence is present. If anyone can show me a restraining order printed on paper strong enough to withstand a bullet or fist, please contact me.
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