Sex Offender Supervising Strategies in Community

Over several years, sexual crimes have continued to raise concerns within the (Nieto, 2004). This happens due to the rise in sexual related crimes within the country. Between 1980 and 1994, for instance, the number of incarcerated sex offenders grew by a yearly margin of seven percent, a figure that represented one in every ten cases of incarceration (Nieto, 2004).

Consequently, there was the need to supervise sex offenders within the community in spite of the posed challenges. However, different supervision strategies must be used depending on the risk levels posed by sex offenders in the society. In this paper, the author discussed three strategies of supervising sex offenders within the community namely: GPS Monitoring, , and .

GPS Monitoring

Within the last ten years, the use of electronic monitoring technologies has risen to prevent sex offenders from committing further crimes in the future (IACP, 2008). One such technology is the Global Positioning Satellite technology that law enforcement officials use in tracking the sex offenders within the society. Depending on the risks posed to the society, sex offenders may be subjected to different lengths of supervision ranging from five years to lifetime supervision. An advantage of the GPS monitoring system against other forms of traditional monitoring system is that it gives the exact position of an offender within 10 to 15 feet (IACP, 2008). This strategy, therefore, is an effective means of conducting close supervision to sex offenders in the community.

There are two categories of GPS tracking, which include the active and passive forms (IACP, 2008). Both passive and active forms include exclusion zones that vary according to each offender. In the active system, the monitoring official such as a parole officer receives instant notifications when an offender enters an exclusion zone; hence, the appropriate measures are taken. In passive systems, the data become recorded, but the monitoring official does not get an instant notification. It is quite easy, using these systems, for the supervision officers to establish offender violations from the notifications received (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2005).

are the perfect candidates for supervision by the GPS system as all the information about their whereabouts are relayed in regular intervals to the supervision officer. This means that violations by the offender are captured for use as evidence against the officer. When offenses are committed, and the evidences handed over by the supervision officers, appropriate measures including incarceration be taken.

This tool is effective because it restricts the offenders actions and generates inducement to abide by the terms of their supervision (IACP, 2008). Despite the numerous benefits of using the GPS system, there still exist some limitations as the system does not of the public (DeMichele, Brian & Deeanna, 2007). For example, sex offenders may trick victims to areas outside the exclusion zones and commit an offence. Additionally, the system may be expensive and substantially increases the workload of the supervision officers.

Restrictive Residency Perimeters

In order for correctional facilities to ensure the society remains safe from sex offenders, residency restrictions that prevent sex offenders from living within selected areas can serve the purpose (Payne, n.d). Currently, at least 14 jurisdictions have already implemented laws that restrict convicted sex offenders from living within established radiuses from schools, parks and other areas where children are crowded.