GPS Tracking Devices on Dangerous Citizens

Mary Babb was in her SUV last year when her estranged husband slammed into her with his pickup truck. The crash overturned Babb’s vehicle and left her suspended upside-down by her seat belt. As she hung there helplessly, Thomas Babb fired two rounds from a shotgun, killing his wife in front of horrified witnesses outside the office where she worked. Babb had filed for divorce and moved out just before her death. She changed jobs and obtained a court order protecting her from her husband. But he kept following her. According to her family, she did everything the law provided her, and it wasn’t enough. These are just two examples of convicted offenders and that sometimes the law is just not enough. In 1995, Iowa passed the Iowa Sex Offender Registry Law. Any person convicted of a criminal offense against a minor with a sexual element, an aggravated offense with a sexual element, a sexually violent offense, or any other relevant offense in Iowa, or in any other state, or in any federal, military, tribal, or foreign court, must register as a sex offender. As of August 1st 2005, there were 6,004 people on the sex offender registry. A person who is required to register as a sex offender and whose underlying criminal offense was committed against a minor is prohibited from residing within 2,000 feet of the real property comprising a public or non-public elementary or secondary school or a child care facility. A sex offender who resides within 2,000 feet of a public or non-public school or child care facility commits an aggravated misdemeanor. BUT, an offender who had an established residence prior to July 1, 2002, resides within 2,000 feet of a newly established school or child care facility does not violate the restriction (Iowa - A Taliban State). So, you could have a twice convicted sex offender living next to you and your family. What good is the law then? Since this new law came into effect, registered sex offenders have became less and less. Not because they’re not committing the crimes, but because they’re not registering. Out of the 6,000 offenders in Iowa, over 500 of them are listed as “unconfirmed whereabouts.” It has forced many of the offenders to become homeless, or sleeping in their cars or trucks (Davey). National surveys have shown that about one-fourth of all sex offenders who are on the streets have moved, failed to report new addresses to police and eluded detection.