NJ Signs Landmark Legislation for GPS Tracking of S.O.'s
PO BOX 004 TRENTON, NJ 08625 Contact: Kelley Heck 609-777-2600 August 11, 2005 Codey Signs Landmark Legislation for GPS Tracking of Sex Offenders New Jersey Continues to Lead Country in Safeguarding Children (WOODBURY) – Acting Governor Richard J. Codey today signed landmark legislation that establishes the use of Global Positioning System technology in the fight to protect children from sex offenders. “This bill we are signing today lets use real technology to protect our children from real predators,” Codey said. “These predators try to find creative ways to get past a parent’s defenses and exploit our children. We are going to stay a step ahead of them. “Let us be clear,” Codey continued, “From day one, New Jersey has led the nation in working to protect our children, and we will continue to do all we can to keep our children safe.” Codey signed Senate bill S1889 during a news conference at the Gloucester County Criminal Justice Complex. Codey, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, was joined by bill sponsors Sens. Stephen M. Sweeney and Fred H. Madden as well as Assembly members Douglas H. Fisher and Joseph Azzolina. Other sponsors include Sen. Leonard T. Connors, Jr., and Assembly members Linda R. Greenstein, Peter J. Barnes, Jr., Christopher J. Connors and Eric Munoz. “I am proud to have sponsored a measure that works so hard to protect the state's children,” said Sweeney (D-Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem) “This law will help us work to keep our children safe, from the sexual predators looking to hurt them. By placing harsher restrictions on convicted sex offenders, we are sending them a clear message that we will fight for the rights and safety of our children.” Madden (D-Camden, Gloucester) said the following: “As parents and grandparents, our children are our most prized possessions, and we should do whatever we can to keep them safe. This new law puts in place another safeguard to help protect our children from sexual predators looking to harm them, but it's just the beginning. I am committed to continuing the fight to help New Jersey's children.” The new law requires the chairman of the State Parole Board, in consultation with the Attorney General, to establish a two-year pilot program for the continuous, satellite-based monitoring of certain sex offenders. It also authorizes annual polygraph examinations of certain offenders. Ninety days after completion of the pilot program, the Parole Board chairman will submit a report to the Governor and Legislature recommending whether the monitoring should be continued as a statewide program. “Local officials need all tools possible to monitor the whereabouts of known pedophiles so they never again can victimize another child,” said Fisher (D-Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem). “We cannot leave any stone unturned. The less we leave to chance in combating pedophiles, the greater assurance we have that children will be spared a tragic fate.” Up to 250 sex offenders will be monitored under the pilot program. They would include those sex offenders determined to have a high risk of offending again. “Taking sex offenders at their word that they are not going to prey on children again is no longer enough to consider our kids safe,” said Greenstein (D-Middlesex, Mercer). “As recent tragedies in other states have shown, local notification laws are not fail safe. If a family can use a GPS device to find its way to a playground or soccer field, surely law enforcement can use a GPS device to ensure a sex offender stays far away.” GPS monitoring includes equipment that communicates with overhead satellites to determine the equipment’s precise location on the earth. Under this program, GPS devices worn by sex offenders would continually record and update their location. The use of global positioning technology will allow law enforcement officials to know precisely where the monitored sex offenders spend their time and ensure that they keep out of areas restricted to them. The technology will also permit officers to compare their movements to reports of new crimes. Any sex offender who fails to comply with the measure or tampers with tracking equipment would be guilty of a third-degree crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and $15,000 in fines. The measure appropriates $3 million to administer the pilot program. “This is a get-tough measure that will give law enforcement enhanced abilities to keep pedophiles away from our kids,” said Barnes (D-Middlesex). “Requiring the depraved individuals who prey on children to wear these GPS devices will send a clear message that nothing is more important than ensuring the safety of our kids.” As the first state to conceive and enact Megan’s Law over a decade ago, New Jersey has been at the forefront in the fight to protect children from sex offenders. In establishing this program, Codey has reaffirmed the state’s commitment to safeguarding its children through all available means and the latest technologies. http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/governor/njnewsline/default.pl