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Chicago Is Tracking Kids Awaiting Trial With GPS Monitors That Can Call, Record Them Without Consent (theappeal.org)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Appeal: On March 29, court officials in Chicago strapped an ankle monitor onto Shawn, a 15-year-old awaiting trial on charges of armed robbery. They explained that the device would need to be charged for two hours a day and that it would track his movements using GPS technology. He was told he would have to be given permission to leave his house, even to go to school. But he found out that through his monitor, officers wouldn't just be able to track his location, as most electronic monitors do. They would also be able to speak -- and listen -- to him. Shawn, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is one of hundreds of children in Chicago whose ankle monitors are now equipped with microphones and speakers. The stated purpose of these devices is to communicate with the children, but they are raising concerns among civil liberties watchers that they are actually a mechanism for surveilling the conversations of these kids and those around them -- and potentially for using the recordings in criminal cases.
In January, Cook County, home of Chicago, awarded a contract to the electronic monitoring company Track Group, which will lease 275 ankle monitors to keep tabs on children awaiting trial. The devices, known as ReliAlert XC3, have two-way communication capabilities that allow both electronic monitoring officers at the criminal court and employees at Track Group's monitoring center to call an individual wearing a monitor at any time. The wearer can press a button on the device to reach the monitoring center, but there is no way to decline an incoming call. Cook County officials said juvenile probation began using the new devices in February because of their extended battery life and more secure band. The devices were also selected because of their built-in communication, as some children on probation are difficult to reach by phone. But Pat Milhizer, the director of communications for the office of the chief judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, said the county would now review concerns about privacy. "I can't quite even start down the parade of horribles in terms of all the ways this could be a problem," said Sarah Staudt, senior policy analyst and staff attorney for Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice and a former juvenile defense attorney in Cook County. "The idea that an adult can turn on a listening device while a child is, say, in the bathroom or in their bedroom is not good."
In January, Cook County, home of Chicago, awarded a contract to the electronic monitoring company Track Group, which will lease 275 ankle monitors to keep tabs on children awaiting trial. The devices, known as ReliAlert XC3, have two-way communication capabilities that allow both electronic monitoring officers at the criminal court and employees at Track Group's monitoring center to call an individual wearing a monitor at any time. The wearer can press a button on the device to reach the monitoring center, but there is no way to decline an incoming call. Cook County officials said juvenile probation began using the new devices in February because of their extended battery life and more secure band. The devices were also selected because of their built-in communication, as some children on probation are difficult to reach by phone. But Pat Milhizer, the director of communications for the office of the chief judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, said the county would now review concerns about privacy. "I can't quite even start down the parade of horribles in terms of all the ways this could be a problem," said Sarah Staudt, senior policy analyst and staff attorney for Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice and a former juvenile defense attorney in Cook County. "The idea that an adult can turn on a listening device while a child is, say, in the bathroom or in their bedroom is not good."
All these Orwellian police state tactics instituted by (R) dominated cities....
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
Than I don't care.
In 2014, a technician for Track Group, which was then called SecureAlert, testified during a hearing in Puerto Rico that although the device is supposed to vibrate and make a noise when itâ(TM)s activated, the listening and speaking capabilities can be turned on without warning.
and now I care.
The kid is accused of armed robbery. The kid gets to stay out of jail while awaiting trial. I understand the "if you have nothing to hide then why worry" argument, but this isn't just some random person. Truly, if he has nothing to hide then no problem. But he's probably a gang banger who is going to brag about his crimes to his homies.
IMHO, the only time this kid gets to be un-monitored is when he's talking to his lawyer. Bragging to his homies? Gotcha.
Don't like it? Cool your jets in jail until your trial date comes up. You aren't some random dude minding his own business. You're probably an asshole who needs to be locked away for decades, and this is your last chance to prove the prosecutor wrong.
They wear the monitor and consent to it's use. Or they can stay at the Big House. Where's the lack of consent exactly?
So you're OK with guilty until proven innocent? You also think most people understand their "actual" rights? And a minor? If he had money and bailed out they would have to get a warrant just to listen to phone etc. But you have decided, based solely on the fact that he was charged, he's "probably an asshole who needs to be locked away for decades" so why bother with due process? And a minor? Mind boggling.
So, Gavagai80, certainly you would have no problem with all the rest of us listening to Gavagai80 poop, or listen to Gavagai80 masturbate, and record it for prosperity, or maybe play it back at some future time that you have no control over? Of course not.
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Where's your head exactly?
Option A: Get lojacked with a device that records everyone around you
Option B: Go to jail. Where you can be beaten, raped and tortured. And if you stay there long at all you'll lose your house/job/kids. Even if you are completely innocent.
There's no more "consent" here than a bank "consents" to part with some cash when someone slips a threatening note to a teller.
Well if that's what the cops said he did... shit why even have a trial. They said he's an armed robber!
All of these comments are petty arguments over politics and race, when the real issue here is that technology has been getting developed specifically for intrusive use by the government. Where do we draw the line? Obviously, the crime this kid did brings little sympathy... but what if surveillance technology becomes the norm for DUIs or minor drug offenses?
"The cause of fear is ignorance."