Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2017 11:02 AM
To: LeDroitPark@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LeDroitPark] PRESS RELEASE: Mayor Bowser Signs GPS Monitoring Legislation
PRESS RELEASE
Mayor
Bowser Signs GPS Monitoring Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 4, 2017
CONTACT:
(WASHINGTON, DC)
– Today, Mayor Bowser signed legislation that makes it a criminal offense
for persons on probation or parole to tamper with GPS monitoring devices. The
legislation - which she proposed and that is part of the Mayor's Safer Stronger
DC initiative - closes a critical loophole that allowed individuals on
supervised release who were ordered to wear electronic monitoring devices to go
unpunished after removing, disabling, or tampering with the device.“Last year, the District of Columbia saw significant decreases in the numbers of homicides, burglaries and robberies. Violent and property crimes are down in our first two years in office, but we can and must do better,” said Mayor Bowser. “This legislation is a strong step to remedy a critical shortcoming in our criminal justice system. In 2017, we will continue to use all available tools to create a safer, stronger DC. Our residents and visitors deserve nothing less.”
GPS monitoring devices are a
significant tool in monitoring compliance by persons on supervised release.
They can also deter reoffending and aid law enforcement in criminal
investigations. Law enforcement agencies have been able to make arrests in
violent crimes where participants were wearing a GPS monitoring device while
committing the crime, such as the 2013 drive-by shooting on North Capitol
Street that wounded 13 people.
Under previous District law,
anyone under supervised release, such as an individual on release pending
trial, probation, or parole, who was ordered by a supervision agency to wear a
GPS device should have been held criminally responsible for tampering with the
device – including attempting to remove it, failure to charge
it, or trying to mask its signal. However, pursuant to a decision by the Court
of Appeals, the law was interpreted to mean that prosecutions could only be
done when the individual was ordered to wear a GPS device by the U.S. Parole
Commission or a judge.
At the bill signing, Mayor Bowser was joined by United States
Attorney for the District of Columbia Channing Phillips, District of Columbia
Attorney General Karl Racine, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 5
Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, and Interim Chief of Police Peter Newsham.
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Social Media:
Mayor Bowser Twitter: @MayorBowser
Mayor Bowser Facebook: facebook.com/MayorMurielBowser
Mayor Bowser Website: mayor.dc.gov
1 comment:
Near-meaningless. Someone who is a candidate for ankle bracelet monitoring, should they decide to tamper with it, is unlikely to be making a calculation as to whether it's going to bring them another charge.
This isn't rocket science. The main flaw with the person arrested in Tricia's case was that he was ordered for GPS monitoring at a separate time and place, and apparently released from custody until that time. Why isn't that person escorted and fitted immediately?
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