Fatima Hussein

IndyStar

More than 3,200 Central Indiana residents are outfitted with GPS tracking devices that monitor their every movement, every second of every day.

Correctional authorities are increasingly using these bracelets and other tracking devices to increase compliance with the conditions of pretrial release, probation or parole among accused and convicted offenders in metro Indianapolis.

And in the past year alone, the number of people ordered to wear the electronic monitoring technology here has nearly doubled, said Brian Barton, former community corrections director and current executive director of Track Group, Marion County's sole GPS tracking device provider.

Barton heads Track Group, which has 30 employees at locations in Lafayette, Tell City and Downtown Indianapolis. Statewide, they track roughly 5,000 people.

Given the news of Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's sweeping criminal justice reform proposal this past week, which includes a variety of alternative methods to reduce crime, Salt Lake City-based Track Group is expected to grow exponentially here in the future, Barton said.

For an idea of how fast Track Group is growing, the company has seen a 39 percent year-over-year increase in gross profits, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

"The fact that there is major jail overcrowding problem here and technology is cheaper than it used to be," Barton told IndyStar, "there is a lot of pressure to use monitors."

New jail included in Hogsett’s sweeping proposal for justice reform

Company officials, community corrections management and even Marion County's chief public defender say that GPS devices are helpful in keeping people who would otherwise be incarcerated out of jail and out of the cycle of crime. They see GPS tracking as a cheaper, more humane way of preventing crime.

However, critics say the tracking devices do nothing to deter criminal activity or stigmatize offenders in society, often are placed on people who would not otherwise be in jail and are costly to taxpayers.

Around the country, some lawmakers are trying to limit use of GPS monitors.

For instance, this past week in Minnesota, State Rep. Peggy Scott said at a news conference that tougher standards are needed to protect privacy. As a result, Minnesota's Republican lawmakers announced plans to introduce legislation to stop the Minnesota Department of Public Safety from tracking the locations of motorists who are required to use ignition interlock devices.

The explosive growth of GPS monitors

The number of accused and convicted criminal offenders in the United States who are monitored with ankle bracelets and other electronic tracking devices rose nearly 140 percent over the past 10 years, from 53,000 to 125,000 units nationally, according to a December 2015 Pew Charitable Trusts Survey.

That is partly due to declining costs of technology that is increasingly more reliable and provides more data to users. It is also less expensive than putting people in jail, which can cost nearly $100 per day.

Track Group's GPS systems track offenders in real time, identifying their movements and whereabouts by transmitting location information to monitoring centers and triangulating signals from satellites and cellular towers. Ideally, trackers are intended to manage individuals’ behavior, Barton said.

The company uses a tool that allows users to make predictions about future activity by analyzing a client’s life patterns and coding various locations or activities as “interesting” or “not interesting” so officers can prioritize their time and investigate activities or locations that stick out.

Traded on the OTCQX Premier marketplace under the symbol "TRCK," Track Group is reaping the benefits of its market share here.

Gross profits rose 39 percent year-over-year, with a rise from $8.7 million in gross profits in June 2015 to $12.2 million in June 2016, according to SEC records.

"We see this as a tool for re-socialization, to keep people away from the places and people they don't need to be around," said Barton, who credits himself with bringing the first GPS technology to Indiana in 1999.

David R. Hennessy, an Indianapolis criminal defense attorney, said there is an overconfidence in GPS tracking monitors.

"There are a lot of problems with these devices," Hennessy said. "Many of these people would not otherwise be in jail, which is an increased cost to the offender and taxpayer." He added that people who wear GPS monitors face "social ostracization," and "they are largely seen as a negative in society."

In Marion County, offenders are responsible for the fees associated with maintaining their tracking devices — a $50 setup fee and $14 a day to maintain the tracker, which they must recharge daily. Indigent offenders are placed on a sliding fee scale.

However, with the increase of people on monitors comes a new need for taxpayer-funded case managers to monitor the people using GPS devices.

Pros and cons of GPS monitor growth

Community Corrections Executive Director John Deiter said there are always challenges in implementing change in the criminal justice system.

"We are desperate for more case managers" Deiter said. With 42 current case managers, working on roughly 70 cases per year, community corrections will need more than 20 new case managers in the coming year to handle increasing case loads, he said.

Those salaries will come at a cost to taxpayers, Hennessy said, but Deiter said the reduction in jail fees should be considered.

"These devices serve as a deterrent to illegal activity," Deiter told IndyStar. "And if people end up better off after wearing them, then we've done our job," he said.

Bob Hill, the county's chief public defender, is encouraged by the use of GPS technology.

"If we didn't have this outlet, it would be a real mess beyond belief because there would be a desire to put those individuals on pretrial detention."

"It costs less that putting people in jail, and electronic monitoring does a good job of alleviating that problem," Hill said.

When it comes to the prospect that some individuals being placed on monitors that may not otherwise be incarcerated, Hill said, "That's a question that has come up — whether people should be released on their own recognizance.

"That's a decision a judge has to make."

Call IndyStar reporter Fatima Hussein at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @fatimathefatima.