Satellite Monitoring Gets The Boot In Charleston County Wednesday July 05, 2006 7:08pm
Reporter: Courtney Ward ABC News 4 Charleston, SC http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0706/342082.html Charleston judges will no longer use satellite monitoring as a condition of bond because they say it's not reliable. You could say last month's incident where it took a bail bond company three days to realize someone they were satellite tracking had removed his bracelet was a wake up call for four Charleston County judges at least thats what Charleston Countys Chief Magistrate, Henry Guerard, says. We were concerned that the monitoring didn't seem to be doing anything and that this was giving a false sense of security to the victims and the community at large. Guerard says starting this week satellite monitoring will no longer be a condition of bond, which has parents, like John Buxton, feeling less than secure. If it's a choice between keeping them in jail and using a faulty satellite monitoring system then I would say just keep them in jail. I would feel more comfortable with that. And to keep victims and the community safe, Guerard says judges will continue on with the tried and true system of setting bond amounts that will encourage people to show up for their trials and prevent them from committing more crimes. Both local judges and bail bondsmen say the monitoring system has its flaws, such as a significant number of false alarms and the fact that the rubber bracelet can be removed with just a few snips of the scissors. Robinson Bail Bonds is one of just a few local agencies monitoring people by satellite. A spokesman for the company says he's happy with the judges decision because tracking people is a hassle. He says the system can only work if the defendants make it work - by keeping the bracelet charged and following set orders. The spokesman says about 15 people are currently being tracked by satellite in Charleston and Berkeley counties. No one is under the tracking system in Dorchester County. Guerard says a major problem with the tracking system is that there are no laws or regulations concerning it. He says the system might be better off if law enforcement oversaw the monitoring aspect of it instead of bail bondsmen. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list medianews@twiar.org To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
