Sex offender monitoring to expand

Fourteen sex offenders wear these GPS monitoring bracelets in Clark County because they are deemed to be the highest risks to reoffend. The Department of Corrections on Wednesday announced plans to expand use of the tracking devices. (N. SCOTT TRIMBLE/The Columbian)

With a click of a “play” button, green arrows start dotting a Clark County road map on a computer screen, charting the route of where a person went Tuesday.

At 11 a.m. he left his residence in Sifton. He drove on state Highway 500. In the early afternoon he made a stop along Highway 99.

Boring, right?

But the person in question is a registered sex offender actively supervised by the state Department of Corrections. He’s one of 14 sex offenders in Clark County who wears a GPS bracelet, allowing corrections officers to track every move.

On Wednesday, the state announced it has expanded use of GPS monitoring to include all Level 3 sex offenders, for at least the first 30 days after they are released from custody.

Previously, only offenders considered most at risk to reoffend among Level 3 sex offenders — already the group considered most likely to reoffend — wore the devices. More than 200 offenders statewide have worn a bracelet since the state started using them a year ago, and 89 currently wear them.

That includes 14 in Clark County, where ankle bracelets are worn by all six Level 3 offenders and eight Level 2 offenders under active supervision who meet the requirements of wearing a bracelet, which includes being sentenced after July 1, 2000.

Gelinda Amell, a state corrections supervisor in Vancouver, said Level 2s can still be considered at risk to reoffend, particularly when they don’t have the stability of housing and a job, have mental health issues or convictions for failing to follow requirements of supervision.

The GPS bracelets have been helpful, she said.

For example, one offender isn’t allowed within Battle Ground city limits. If he does venture inside the city, his corrections officer will find out.

“It really gives (officers) an opportunity to see how (offenders) move through the community,” Amell said.

Officers can check in and find out where an offender is at any time. Mostly, though, they review next-day reports of where the offender went.

Armed with the details of when and where, officers can asked offenders about who and what during meetings, Amell said.

She said officers put a positive spin on the bracelets, pointing out to offenders that having their whereabouts on record could potentially help if they are wrongly accused of a crime.

The $1,500 bracelet can be snipped off, but no local offender has done it, Amell said. One offender even came into her office frantic because his bracelet worked loose, and he didn’t want it to give off a signal that he had tampered with it.

The bracelet-wearing sex offenders still represent just a fraction of the 200-plus Level 2 and 3 sex offenders in Clark County. Those include other Level 3 sex offenders, who are monitored by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Vancouver Police Department even though they are no longer under active state supervision.

As of Wednesday, all newly released Level 3s will wear the tracking device for at least 30 days.

That first month is a crucial time, as offenders are trying to find work, housing and stability.

“We want to keep a little closer eye on them,” Amell said, adding that offenders can be made to wear the devices longer than 30 days if officers feel they are at high risk to reoffend.

The state leases the GPS equipment from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Director Don Pierce said it costs $12.75 a day to monitor each offender. The state has been paying between $1,000 and $1,200 a day to track offenders, he said.

The decision to monitor all Level 3s for at least a month will double the state’s caseload. That means the state will be paying approximately $800,000 a year for the equipment.

He cautioned that the bracelets are not a fail-safe plan for preventing sex crimes.

They are meant to modify offenders’ behavior by making them more concerned about getting caught, Pierce said, but they won’t prevent anybody from doing anything.

“It improves community safety,” Pierce said. “It doesn’t ensure it.”

Stephanie Rice can be reached at 360-735-4549 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.