Boston, MA, May 11, 2005 -- The Massachusetts Probation Service’s Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) System, which will track the whereabouts of sex offenders in the state, will debut today when the first sex offender is hooked up to the system. The GPS System is a 24-hour, seven day a week monitoring program.

The Massachusetts Probation Service will be the sole monitoring agency for GPS in the state for probationers and parolees.

“The GPS System is an extra layer of supervision. It’s going to be a great tool,” said Deputy Commissioner Paul Lucci.

Approximately 60 offenders, probationers and parolees, will be hooked up to the system in the next five weeks. Offenders will be outfitted with an ankle bracelet which transmits a signal to a cell phone and GPS tracker on a belt. The GPS System is linked with the U.S. Defense Department satellites which are orbiting 12,000 miles above the earth.The devices send information on the offenders’ whereabouts every five minutes to Probation’s Electronic Monitoring Center. Probation employees in the Electronic Monitoring center will monitor the movement of sex offenders. If the offender leaves the area to where he or she has been restricted to, an alert will go off .

A Probation employee will contact the offender on a specialized GPS cell phone to find out why the offender left the designated area and to instruct them to leave the undesignated area. If the Probation employee receives no response when they call the offender or if the offender does not provide an adequate explanation regarding their whereabouts, the Probation employee will contact a Probation Officer who will take the appropriate action, which may include seeking a warrant.

A judge determines who will be placed on the GPS System. Probation employees will monitor both probationers and parolees on the system at a cost of $10 a day for the leasing of equipment on the GPS System and the satellite service.

Coria Holland, Director of Communications 
617-727-5300, ext. 258