GPS for Gangs
It works for finding lost pets and kids out past curfew, so it makes perfect sense to use GPS in fighting crime. I’ll be interested to see how California’s plan to track gang members using GPS works out.
Under an arrangement between prison officials and San Bernardino, high-risk parolees known to belong to street gangs will be released from custody on the condition that they wear a GPS bracelet on their ankles at all times.
They appear as moving dots on a map and if they try to remove the anklet or enter unauthorized areas the device sends an alert to a base station monitored by law enforcement officials.
I suppose it’s nothing new. According to the article, it’s already used by some California counties to monitor sex offenders. But when you combine that story with the ability to track wandering teenagers (or spouses) via GPS, it starts to sound like an episode of Wild Kingdom. It’s just that the tag is on a tasteful bracelet instead of being fastened to an ear.
One question arises in my mind, however. How secure is this tracking system? In the cases of people who might be subject to retaliation or other attacks if identified — like sex offenders and gang memvers — how easy would it be for someone with enough technical knowledge, and an intent to do harm, to hone in on their tracking device and locate them?
