According to the National Center for State Courts, our judicial system– state and federal, trial and appellate courts – process more than 90 million cases annually. For example, the "War on Drugs" has spurred an increase of 30% in drug-related arrests over the period 1994-2004. The judiciary is also confronting an increased number of high-tech offenses like computer crime, credit card fraud and identity theft. According to the Department of Justice, 3.6 million households learned they were identity theft victims during a six-month period in 2004.
Given little sentencing flexibility, the courts have sent hundreds of thousands non-violent offenders to prisons. Today, prisoners sentenced for drug offenses constitute the largest group of Federal inmates. Of those convicted, according to US Department of Justice analysis, 36% can be classified as "low level" offenders – no current or prior violence in their records. If left to fend for themselves within overcrowded jails and prisons, low risk offenders and juveniles are likely to become the victims or students of predators and more hardened criminals. For non-violent substance abusers, in particular, researchers have shown that education and treatment are much more effective than arrest and incarceration.
Conditions are so bad in many US prisons that administrators have abandoned rehabilitation as their primary goal. Punishment and security have become the primary focus. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the system is producing rising numbers of:
- Drug abusers who cycle through the criminal justice system again and again,
- Batterers who resume their domestic abuse shortly after leaving the courthouse, and
- Low level offenders who use incarceration as an opportunity to learn from hardened criminals and then graduate to more serious crimes.
In response, a growing number of courts are taking a more interventionist approach in dispensing justice. Today's courts have been forced to deal with an increasing number of community problems including drug-fueled crime, family dysfunction, repeated petty assaults against property in addition to the issues of jail overcrowding, early release and mandatory lifetime supervision of sex offenders.
The iSECUREtrac Solution
iSECUREtrac offers a number of monitoring solutions appropriate for pretrial diversion, release pending trial and alternative sentencing including:
- iSECUREtrac System 5000 ultra-active GPS, the most advanced real-time GPS monitoring system available.
- Active GPS with independent and "onboard intelligence" for the fastest violation reporting on the market.
- Passive GPS available as landline or cellular enabled.
- House Arrest or Curfew Management includes the option of switching to Active or Passive GPS with "the flip of a switch".
- In-Home Breath Alcohol Testing with integrated visual verification.
The advantage, in part, of GPS monitoring (active and passive) over other forms of electronic supervision is the ability to verify an individual's participation in court ordered counseling and/or rehabilitation sessions. Once verified, a supervising officer can provide systematic incentives for positive activities leading to more permanent behavior change.
For more information or to request an on-site demo of iSECUREtrac systems, services and software, email or call toll-free at 866.537.0022.