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The Use of GPS and RF Devices to Monitor Defendants and Convicted Offenders In the United States  


Author:  Phillip J. Stevenson.; Stephanie Fahy.; Karla Dhungana Sainju.


Source: Volume 29, Number 02, Fall/Winter 2016 , pp.4-6(3)




Journal of Offender Monitoring

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Abstract: 

Until recently, there has been no reliable estimate for the number of offenders on electronic monitoring, although the figure of 80,000 has been widely cited. This research note describes an innovative approach to documenting the use of GPS and RF devices in the United States employed by the authors as members of a research study group commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The data collected through this effort revealed that use of these devices may exceed prior estimates by up to 50%, that the use of EM more than doubled from 2005 to 2015, and that since 2011 the use of GPS devices has continued to increase, while the use of RF devices has decreased. (Editor's Note: This study/paper is a result of an electronic monitoring project Ms. Fahy and Dr. Stevenson managed as employees of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and does not represent the views of their current employers.)

Keywords: Calculating the Number of Offenders on Electronic Monitoring

Affiliations:  1: Congressional Research Service; 2: Booz Allen Hamilton; 3: University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

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