Parole Officers Track Sex Offenders with High Tech Bracelets

YOU USE GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY TO GET FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER IN YOUR CAR.

BUT THE STATE PAROLE DEPARTMENT HAS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT USE FOR IT.

ITS GPS SYSTEM SHOWS PAROLE OFFICERS WHERE A SEX OFFENDER IS AT ALL TIMES.. WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO TREATMENT... EVEN IF THEY'RE TOO CLOSE TO YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL.

FOX 17's SARAH BISHOP TAKES AN IN-DEPTH LOOK...
THEY WALK AMONG US...

YOU MAY SEE THEIR FACES EVERY DAY... YET *NOT KNOW THEY HAVE THEIR EYES ON YOUR CHILDREN.
BUT *ACROSS TENNESSEE... THE STATE HAS ITS "EYES" ON THEM.

Tennessee is an area where we're going to be supervising very intensely.

IN 2005, NASHVILLE WAS PART OF A PILOT PROGRAM TO TEST GPS BRACELETS TO TRACK SEX OFFENDERS.

THE BRACELETS WERE USED ON "VARIOUS" LEVELS OF OFFENDERS. NOW, THE STATE IS IN THE PROCESS OF REALLOCATING THOSE BRACELETS TO THE HIGHEST RISK OFFENDERS-- AND IS EXPANDING IT'S PROGRAM TO *ALL OF TENNESSEE..

We have approximately 2400 sex offenders under BOPP supervision right now and the GPS will be expanded in this project to not only include high risk sex offenders, but violent offenders.

THE OFFENDERS' MOVES ARE WATCHED 24-7, AND CAN BE MONITORED BY COMPUTER.

THIS OFFENDER HAS AN "EXCLUSIVE ZONE" SET UP AROUND HIM... MEANING HE CAN'T GO NEAR MALLS, SCHOOLS.. OR HOMES, WITHOUT SETTING OFF AN ALERT.

in other words the state will be able to tell if the offender's just passing through or actually stopping outside your child's school.
WHICH GIVES PARENTS, SOME PEACE OF MIND.

I think it's great that they're trying to help our kids.
((Jennifer Lloyd 19:03-13))
I think its really good idea, I have a 2 yr old in a day care and even though there's a fence around it, it's small enough someone could reach over and get 'em and I think it's really nice to have something like this.

BUT KIRK SMITH SAYS.. PARENTS SHOULDN'T BE LEFT WITH A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY, SINCE THE BRACELETS CAN'T *PREVENT A CRIME.
SARAH BISHOP, FOX 17 NEWS.


KIRK SMITH SAYS IT WILL TAKE 5 TO 10-YEARS BEFORE THE STATE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW EFFECTIVE THESE MONITORING BRACELETS ARE.

HIGH RISK SEX OFFENDERS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS.. ARE EXPECTED TO BE WEARING THE BRACELETS ACROSS TENNESSEE, BY THE END OF THE YEAR.