GPS Device to Track DUI Offenders

An October 2005 story in The Desert Sun of Palm Springs, California reports that a new wristwatch-like device, using global positioning system (GPS) technology, will track convicted drunk drivers in Riverside County. The devices, designed to keep DUI convicts from going into bars and to inform authorities if they do, will be placed on 10 DUI convicts this December. Avoiding bars is a frequent probation requirement of DUI convicts.

Once a week, the probationer downloads information from the device into a computer. That information is transmitted to his or her probation officer, who monitors the data to see where the probationer has been. If he or she has visited a bar—which can be determined by GPS tracking—the officer will determine whether or not to revoke probation or sanction the violator. The devices—and the program, “Watch Your Step,” that administers them—is funded by a $600,000 grant from the Office of Traffic Safety and will eventually be adopted throughout the state. State officials’ hope is that the devices will be placed on every DUI convict on probation throughout the entire state.

Proponents and opponents are outspoken. Area resident David Gleason, whose stepson was killed by a multiple-offender drunk driver who’d had his license revoked, is all for the devices. “The GPS device would have saved our son’s life if it had been in effect May 23, 2002,” he said. “We can’t bring Ryan back. However, we can keep other Ryans from an unfair death because a repeat drunk-driving offender can’t control his behavior. I hope this technology spreads all over the country.”

While probation officials admit that the effectiveness is limited because the devices don’t provide data in real time (probation officers get the data via weekly computer download), they are convinced that they will work. Ruben Cerecedes, an assistant probation division director with the county’s probation department, is among the devices’ proponents. “These devices enhance what we can do, which benefits everyone,” he said. He adds that since there were not enough probation officers to adequately monitor the county’s 120 felony DUI offenders, the devices will help the officers do their jobs more efficiently.

Opponents, including California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union, say that the devices violate civil rights. However, while they contend the data is too easily accessible by people who shouldn’t have access to it, they say that convicted felons’ rights are outweighed by the need for public safety. In fact, such technology is already in use, and in real-time versions in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Florida, to track sex offenders.

Students at California State University, San Bernardino, will track the results of the “Watch Your Step” program to determine its success.

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