Sexual Predator Detection and Monitoring Concepts

August 17th, 2010

Chet Edwards – Congressman
17th Congressional District
600 Austin Avenue - Suite 29
Waco, Texas 76701

Congressman,

Geographic Information Systems [GIS] is my area of expertise. I wrote the attached whitepaper about 5 years ago and hoped at some point to develop and market the idea. Other obligations set the opportunity aside (until now).

I continually read where law enforcement personnel simply do not have the manpower, time, or budget to adequately monitor the body of wrong-doers. The whitepaper [attached] outlines how citizens and technology should be used in a national, regional, and local “neighborhood watch” arena to insure parole compliance.

I believe the ideas outlined to be relevant but the complexities of the legal system make the possibility of implementation very limited [if I continue working exclusively at a “grass roots” level].

Yes, everyone has rights to privacy, but I believe that habitual law-breakers need more supervision [potentially] at the expense of some of their civil rights.

This is not your area of expertise, but I’m hoping you see merit it these ideas and would forward this information to the appropriate people. If you need more technical or conceptual information I would be happy to provide it and/or continue this discussion in greater detail [with you or your staff].

Best regards,
--
Dennis Fehler
http://www.dennisfehler.com/
118-B South Main Street
McGregor, Texas 76657
254.723.8318

Predator Detection and Avoidance Monitoring [PDAM] Concepts

This whitepaper describes the existing probation and parole policies, its potential relationship to American citizens, and how that partnership might used in a national, regional, and local “neighborhood watch” arena to monitor and insure parole compliance.

The national news continues to air stories about sexual predators abducting and killing children. Among the many possible restraining measures that could be implemented the PDAM concept offers a practical detection and monitoring solution by combining several powerful existing technologies including the internet.

For example, Martha Stewart wears an electronic tracking device that assures her house arrest compliance. Her location is tracked by a Global Positioning System [GPS]. Her device used a special receiver which reported her whereabouts to her probation officer at a central monitoring location. If she did not comply with the terms of her parole she would go back to jail.

Existing Technology Background

The most current probation and parole monitoring systems use a combination of Geographic Information System [GIS] and Global Position Satellite [GPS] technology.

The GIS mapping technology is used to organize and display important information about any specific geographic area. The GPS technology provides the specific latitude and longitude location for each parolee. The GIS electronic map display provides a representation of the spatial location as a map “backdrop” for the probation officers computer interface. The GIS system displays transportation systems, residential and commercial neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, Federal, State, and private buildings, and much more.

The most critical component of any electronic probation service system is the Global Position Satellite [GPS] device the parolee is required to wear. The GPS system was developed by the military to quickly determine the location of soldiers and equipment on the battlefield. The GPS system uses a multi-satellite system to mathematically determine the exact latitude / longitude location of any GPS receiving device. For our application, the GPS receiving device has anti-tamper capabilities that assure the parolee cannot remove or defeat the device without notifying law enforcement. The parolee GPS device has the capability to report parolee locations by telephone technology to any number of the Judicial Systems centralized monitoring stations. Each central monitoring station provides parolee locations to the specified parole agency where parolee locations are displayed on the GIS computer mapping interface along with all the pertinent parolee tabular (spreadsheet) information.

To assure parole compliance, sexual predators released on parole will be required to wear a similar but more advanced device that tracks and broadcasts the location of each predator to a central monitoring station [24/7]. This latest technology would allow the location of each sexual predator to be displayed in real time on a scalable map interface similar to the maps available from maps.google.com. Also, the predators’ movements [for any given period in time] could be tracked and produced for later review. A significant capability of the latest technology would allow a parole officer to set electronic boundaries for areas such as school grounds, day care centers, and/or shopping malls. If any predator moves within a set distance of an “off limits” area an alarm will sound and display the offending predator information. The immediate warning would allow officials to take an appropriate action or report the misconduct to appropriate law enforcement.

The Next Logical Step

The PDAM system electronically gathers the existing predator location information from the various parole compliance monitoring stations through a secure internet connection. At predetermined intervals basic predator location information is extracted from the Judicial Systems central monitoring database and each predator is assigned a risk category. [e.g. high risk = very dangerous predator and low risk = lesser risk predator]. The PDAM monitoring service organizes all predator risk and location information and provides that information to the public as a subscription internet service. PDAM clients simply login to the PDAM web service, then types in his or her street address, and that location is displayed in the center of the PDAM map interface. The PDAM client then uses an electronic bounding box to define (one or more) geographic protection zones to the immediate area surrounding the home location and a predator proximity alarm is set. If any predator moves within the defined area (or areas) the PDAM client has specified an alarm is sounded and the PDAM client is immediately notified by cell phone or pager (or other specified electronic device). Parents are also able to protect themselves and their children by determining appropriate “warning zones” around areas where sexual predators might visit, such as movie theaters, public meetings, concerts, shopping and service businesses.

Summary

The Predator Detection and Avoidance Monitoring system will extend the capability of existing judicial branches electronic monitoring technology by allowing individual citizens access to monitor all the sexual predator [physical] locations in their community. The PDAM internet service would be easy to use and allow the client/user to define specific areas on the PDAM map interface that would provide a notification alarm if any sexual predator comes within those areas. The PDAM service could then contact and report to a specific telephone number or contact a Personal Digital Assistant [PDA] the predators’ location. The immediate warning would allow client/users to take immediate action to avoid contact with the predator and/or report the predator misconduct to appropriate law enforcement.