TRENTON – Senators Stephen M. Sweeney and Fred H. Madden today met with Governor Richard J. Codey, Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and other legislators to discuss a bill they are sponsoring that would create a pilot program for the satellite-based tracking of high risk sex offenders.
“According to the U.S. Department of Justice, sex offenders are four times more likely than non-sex offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after being released from prison,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. ” We cannot allow other situations like those of Megan Kanka and Jessica Lunsford to occur – we must do all we can to protect the public from the monsters who prey on innocent, unsuspecting victims.”
The Senators’ measure would call for the Commissioner of Corrections and the State Attorney General to create a year long pilot program for the continuous, satellite-based monitoring of high risk sex offenders. The program would use GPS (global positioning system) technology to provide continuous, time-correlated tracking of a sex offender’s location and allow law enforcement agencies to compare the subject’s location with reported incidents of crime.
“Sexual assault is physically and emotionally damaging to victims,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester. “The last thing survivors need to worry about is another attack once their assailant is released from prison. By using the GPS technology, law enforcement agencies would know the sex offender’s location at all times, and help work to prevent future attacks.”
The Senators’ measure is scheduled for a vote by the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee on June 9.
