A budget agreement announced Wednesday will allow the state to begin lifetime GPS monitoring of Wisconsin's most serious sex offenders. Shari Hanneman with Citizens for a Safe Wisconsin says it will be a valuable tool for police and it will help reduce the fear of communities where a sex offender is present.
The agreement only allows for about 400 sex offenders to initially be tracked through the use of a GPS system. Hanneman says they'll be watching to see if the monitoring system needs to be expanded. She says they'll take any concerns to the Department of Corrections after the system is off the ground, if they feel any additional tracking is needed.
The tracking system has raised constitutional questions about privacy, but Hanneman is confident it will stand up to any court challenges. She says sex offenders who have violated the rights of a child at any point lose their own rights.