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Queensland to use GPS to track sex offenders

By Clarice Africa | 16 June 2011

By 2012, GPS technology will be used to track Queensland’s most notorious sex offenders, by doing so, authorities hope to a deliver a higher-level of monitoring and greater assurance to the community.

In an official statement, Premier Anna Bligh says $2.2 million will be allocated in the state budget to introduce the technology, which will monitor the whereabouts of former prisoners under supervision orders.

She said 70 offenders now living in the community would begin to be fitted with the devices by the end of the year.

“These people are the worst of the worst. These are the people that our courts determine cannot be released back into the community without strict supervision,” Premier Anna Bligh said.

According to the Premier, the offenders are already subject to supervision and a radio-based monitoring system that alerts authorities if they break curfews.

Meanwhile, Corrective Services Minister Neil Roberts said the technology provided another layer of protection for children but would not replace the vigilance of the staff who monitor sex offenders in the community.

“This type of monitoring forms the backbone of Queensland’s sex offender supervision regime,” he said.

“If they do not comply with the terms of their supervision order, swift action is taken by corrective services personnel, including returning to jail,” he said.

Queensland Corrective Services commissioner Kelvin Anderson said that while the GPS technology still has some limitations, he assures the community that the Corrective Services will go to the market to look for the best technology that would best stand up to scrutiny.

The program is expected to cost $13.7 million over the next four years.

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