Ten ankle monitors will be used to track the steps of domestic violence offenders in Red Deer starting in June as part of a three-year pilot project.
Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter Society received $450,000 from the provincial government’s Alberta’s Safe Communities Innovation Fund for the GPS (Global Positioning System) Electronic Monitoring project.
Shelter executive director Ian Wheeliker warned that the devices, equipped with a built-in cellphone and radio frequency, are extremely durable and police will be alerted if they are damaged in an effort to take them off.
“It will be monitored 24-seven,” said Wheeliker, holding up the device that weighs over a pound at a press conference on Friday at the Red Deer City RCMP detachment.
“If there is a no-go zone, if the offender is not to go to the victim’s house or place of work, this bracelet will alert police when the offender is going near or going into a no-go zone.”
Police can call the device to tell the offender to “turn and go the other way” in addition to dispatching an officer, he said.
Ankle monitors can also alert police if offenders are not obeying court-ordered curfews.
Red Deer’s Safe Communities Initiative is one of three projects announced on Friday. Edmonton and Calgary Police Services received $129,000 each to track sexual assault predators.
The Red Deer project officially started last October. Over $100,000 each year of the project will go towards equipment and technology.
The women’s shelter, in partnership with police, the courts and other community agencies, first looked into the use of GPS devices for domestic violence about three-and-half years ago.
Minister of Seniors and Community Supports and Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski called it “an initiative that will make a difference.”
In 2002, Jablonski chaired the Government MLA Review of Correctional Services. Implementing an electronic monitoring pilot was second on the committee’s list of 33 recommendations.
The University of Calgary will be evaluating the Red Deer, Edmonton and Calgary projects.
Wheeliker said GPS devices are another law enforcement tool.
“We don’t want to give the community or the public the impression that this is the be-all and end-all because it isn’t. It’s another component of a comprehensive, co-ordinated response to domestic violence and it’s a component of victim safety planning,” said Wheeliker.
Red Deer City RCMP Supt. Brian Simpson said serious criminal domestic violence is a real issue in Red Deer and Alberta, and GPS ankle devices are a good step towards breaking the cycle of violence.
“This instrument will be there to say: listen, this is serious, you’re being held accountable and we’re going to track where you’re at in order to ensure potential victims’ safety,” Simpson said.
Unfortunately, the 10 bracelets will probably be in use “very quickly,” he said.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com