The recently sentenced rapist and murderer of Auckland mother Blessie Gotingco - he was supposedly under strict monitoring conditions - is one classic example. Now we have the case of the notorious sex offender who's just been recaptured after slipping his ankle bracelet while on an extended supervision order.
The tamper alarm on his bracelet had been activated, which would have been relayed to the central unit in Wellington.
Seven hours later, the police got to his home and after initially not being able to break in because of "legal reasons" found the bracelet - but the wearer had scarpered. What's the use of a GPS tracking system beeping away while lying unworn on the offender's living-room floor?
You're not going to believe this but Corrections Department figures, released under the Official Information Act, show there have been more than 15,500 breaches of electronic monitoring conditions since 2008. All the offenders were on either a home detention sentence, which requires them to remain at an approved address around the clock, or a community detention sentence, which restricts them to a curfew.
Indeed, the conditions are strict, but at any given time there are numerous criminals who are abusing the system. Clearly the home detention bracelet idea is not working. In fact I would go as far as to say it's pretty damned hopeless.
Tell me, have you driven on the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll road since it has been finished? It's impressive, and it will certainly smooth out the traffic flow in Te Puke, Papamoa and Mount Maunganui areas.
An NZTA brochure in our mailbox assures us that paying tolls is an easy-peasy process.
"You don't need to slow down, stop or hunt for loose change". You simply drive under the toll gantry, in any lane at normal speed and the sensors and cameras will detect your vehicle, photograph your registration plates and use the information to assign the correct toll price.
For infrequent users like me, using the Pay & Go method, the brochure says that I can pay online or at selected service stations.*
Sounds all good, but like all asterisks, it is not put in the wording for decoration. Further down, the asterisk reappears, accompanied by much smaller print.
* Transaction fees apply ... Please pay within five days.
NZTA is a bit naughty about this because, if you are not aware of this and don't pay on time, the penalties are steep.
The And Another Thing team has been caught out a couple of times when driving through the tolls near Warkworth. Having overlooked the $2.50 charge, while on holiday and away from our computers, we got stung for an extra 20 bucks. Be warned.
-Brian Holden has lived in Rotorua for most of his life and has been writing his weekly column for 11 years.
