Satellite tracking of sex offenders on trial

A global positioning system (GPS) which warns when child sex offenders go near schools and parks will be tested by the Corrections Department next year.

The department wants to test whether the Israeli technology can be programmed to set off an alarm when offenders enter "exclusion zones", department probation and offenders service general manager Katrina Casey said.

"It would be for very high-risk child sex offenders whose patterns tend to suggest they go out looking for places where young children congregate," she said.

There were limits to using GPS for tracking people as signals were often hampered by large buildings and landscapes.

"New Zealand has an interesting topography and GPS works off satellite and it isn't the most absolutely reliable technology used, but it's better than nothing.

"We don't know if it's going to work in New Zealand. It may work in some places and not others."

The GPS device, similar to a home detention ankle bracelet, would not be tested on offenders when trials begin early next year - it would be tested on department staff, Ms Casey said.

If the trial was successful, electronic monitoring could be used on about 12 of the 60 offenders a year subject to extended supervision following the completion of parole requirements.

The trial would also examine the costs and benefits of the device.

Countries such as Canada and Britain had already tested the technology.

- NZPA