According to the Palm Beach Post, a Florida teen has been linked to an armed burglary at a State Highway trooper's residence, based on the location points generated by the GPS device he was ordered to wear.  During the course of the burglary the teen allegedly shot the trooper's retired police dog.  Scrutiny of the Department of Juvenile Justice's (DJJ) electronic monitoring program prompted an  investigation which revealed  that technology worked properly however the teen's movements failed to prompt an alert because of  agency errors.  DJJ has ordered a statewide review of all of its electronic monitoring cases.

The Associated Press reports that Ramsey County, Minnesota has introduced a pilot program to use GPS technology to monitor pretrial defendants of felony domestic assault.

The way California's Realignment Plan handles parolees who fail to comply with their GPS monitoring in under scrutiny according to these reports from KCRA News.  The news items indicate that more than 1,100 parolees (81% of which are sex offenders) are not wearing their devices.  If apprehended failure to comply with the GPS requirement is not a new crime and is only punishable by county jail time.

A California state senator is planning to introduce legislation that would make it a felony for a parolee to tamper with or remove a GPS device.

GPS continues to help link suspects to new crimes across the country:

According to this report by the Santa Fe New Mexican, a man monitored with GPS technology while out on bond has been re-arrested  and charged with two robberies.  The offender's GPS location points helped link him to the crimes and investigators are reviewing the offender's location history to confirm whether he was at the scene of two other robberies in which he is a suspect.

United Press International reports that a New Hampshire woman, also monitored with GPS while out on bond,  was arrested on charges of theft of jewelry and tools after she was tracked to the scene of a burglary.

Corrections official in Australia are pushing for legislation that will permit GPS tracking of convicted arsonists.  This Sunday Age article describes the novel approach which would include establishing exclusion zones around areas such as forests or national parks.

According to this Los Angeles Daily News report, the county sheriff is recommending the use of body worn video cameras by officers in "high liability" areas of the Men's Central Jail despite some issues identified during a six month pilot program.  The cameras are intended to accomplish a number of objectives such as increasing officer accountability, resolving citizen complaints and reducing civil liability.

The Record reports that a new type of ignition interlock technology is being piloted on school buses in Canada.  The system uses transdermal sensors built into the vehicle's steering wheel to determine whether the driver in inebriated.

According to this article that appeared on the  News10 website, researchers at the Scripps Institute are working on a methamphetamine vaccine that could attack the drug as it gets into the body and keep it from going into the brain and the nervous system.

With support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and  

Alcoholism, the Rand Corporation conducted a study of South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project.  The program, which relies heavily on frequent alcohol testing (breathalyzer and continuous monitoring) and swift and modest sanctions for violators helped reduce repeat DUI arrests and domestic violence arrests.  Click here for the Associated Press article.

The Elk Grove Patch reports that the Sacramento County Probation Office recently recovered its 301st stolen vehicle through an innovative application of automated license plate readers on probation vehicles.