By ERIN JULIUS, The Herald-Mail
February 17, 2010
erinj@herald-mail.com
ANNAPOLIS — Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore on Wednesday attended a meeting of the Washington County delegation to the General Assembly in support of a bill that would implement a GPS tracking system pilot program for some who have not complied with protective orders.
Del. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, introduced a similar bill in the past.
Previous bills, and this one, could have applied to Douglas Pryor, who is serving life in prison without parole for killing Alison Munson and Smithsburg Police Officer Christopher Shane Nicholson on Dec. 19, 2007, Shank said.
Munson, the mother of Pryor’s children, was granted a protective order against Pryor weeks before her death.
The Washington County delegation voted unanimously Wednesday to introduce the bill. The entire delegation will act as the bill’s sponsor.
Sen. Alex X. Mooney, R-Washington/Frederick, did not attend the meeting.
State funds will not be used for the two-year pilot program, Mullendore said. His department will shoulder those costs not covered by fees paid by the respondent being monitored, he said.
The program would affect about 12 to 15 people a year in Washington County, Mullendore said.
Under the bill, respondents on pretrial release who face a charge of violating a protective order could be supervised by a GPS tracking device. Those who receive a suspended sentence for failing to comply with a protective order could also be put on the electronic monitoring.
Under the bill, the sheriff and administrative judge for Washington County District Court would have to submit a report on the pilot program at the end of the two-year period.
The most volatile time in domestic violence situations is when a protective order is in place, Mullendore said. Respondents who violate those orders have already shown themselves to be more dangerous than most, he said.
With the GPS tracking device, there would be an “exclusion zone” the respondent is not to enter. If the GPS device enters that zone, both the 911 center and victim would be notified, Mullendore said.
“Law enforcement would be dispatched immediately,” he said.
If the respondent should have to enter the exclusion zone for legitimate reasons, the respondent would have to notify the 911 center ahead of time, and law enforcement would be dispatched to ensure no violence occurred, Mullendore said.
Previous incarnations of the bill, introduced by Shank, would have required judges to consider a behavioral assessment — known as the lethality assessment — to determine whether those who have violated protective orders or domestic abusers who are released on bail should be required to wear the tracking device.
Language regarding the lethality assessment was removed from the bill, as the Washington County delegation will introduce it. In addition, instead of a statewide bill, it will now apply only to Washington County for the two-year pilot program.
The lethality assessment had been too controversial, Shank said.
“We have the technology that gives law enforcement and victims an opportunity to better respond to very deadly situations,” Shank said Wednesday.