Leading lawyer challenges Police Minister to prove GPS devices are monitored ‘around the clock’
A LEADING criminal lawyer has challenged Police Minister Mark Ryan to prove GPS tracking devices fitted on alleged wife beaters are monitored directly by police “around the clock, every second of the day”.
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A LEADING criminal lawyer has challenged Police Minister Mark Ryan to prove GPS tracking devices fitted on alleged wife beaters are monitored directly by police “around the clock, every second of the day”.
Former Queensland Law Society president Bill Potts yesterday called out Mr Ryan: “If the Police Minister is serious about the efficiency and effectiveness of these devices then he should present proof that they are in fact being monitored by real people in real time,” he said.
Lawyers, police and community workers said the system had serious failings, including a reliance on the 3G mobile network, batteries had to be charged by alleged offenders for two hours every day, information on accused criminals was going to the UK before bouncing back to Queensland Police and the devices were only monitored from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.
Mr Ryan strongly denied the latter claim.
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The concerned groups said the community perception that the alleged wife beaters were being tracked by real police in real time was inaccurate, as the bracelets only activated when a wearer went into a “no-go” zone as part of their bail or tampered with the device.
They said the trackers were unable to detect if the alleged criminals were threatening victims out of the “no-go” zones because no one was watching them.
Mr Ryan yesterday told parliament the devices were some of the best in the world and were constantly monitored.
“This means they are monitored around the clock, every second of every day,” he said.
He said reporting otherwise was “reckless and dangerous”.
Mr Ryan’s defence of the bracelet system comes nearly a week after the Bulletin revealed only nine accused thugs statewide had been fitted with the device — two of whom were on the Gold Coast — despite police compiling a “long list” of alleged offenders capable of killing their partners.
Mr Ryan replied: “With two of nine GPS trackers currently in place across the state the Gold Coast has more than its fair share with over 20 per cent.”
On Monday, another alleged offender was ordered to wear a device. He is expected to remain in custody until the end of the week until a device is transported from Brisbane because they are not kept on the Gold Coast.
“There is a commonly held view that the tracking devices are not monitored in real time and this presents little value in protection to potential victims,” said Mr Potts, of Potts Lawyers.
The devices are being trialled as a way to monitor accused criminals who have been granted bail. They are not to be used as a reason to grant a defendant bail.
Once the device is fitted, the wearer must sign a 16-point police document which promises they will charge the tracker for two hours each day, not damage the device and alert police if the device is malfunctioning.
Defence lawyer Campbell MacCallum, of Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers, said the device would alert authorities if the battery ran out.
But he warned the 16 conditions alleged offenders were asked to sign by police were not formally part of the bail conditions.
“It hasn’t been tested (in court) yet but my understanding is these conditions would not be a breach of bail.
“My understanding is the devices are not monitored everyday — that is the argument being put up by prosecutions,” he said.
During discussions this week whether to fit a GPS tracker to a man accused of choking his partner, Magistrate Mark Howden asked police prosecutor Sergeant Damian Summerfield if police were alerted to GPS tracker wearers breaching exclusion zones.
“We are told, it’s just the information is relayed from England to the QPS systems and we can’t rely on it solely,” Sgt Summerfield said.
The Police Minister said many public service agencies in Australia used the same service in England.
“The geographical location of monitoring equipment has zero impact on the speed and reliability of the monitoring and alert process,” Mr Ryan said.
Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Assault director Di McLeod wants a review of the system.
“My biggest concern as a citizen is there’s no live-time monitoring,” she said.
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“There’s a potential gap between something happening and someone taking the bracelet off and going to a no-go zone.”
Ms McLeod believes the community and victims almost certainly had a higher expectation of safety, and other states had introduced improved technology which set off warnings about bracelet tampering.
At least one Coast tracker wearer has been caught by police for removing his bracelet.
Technical experts believe there needs to be stronger back-up to the current system.
“This is not a silver bullet (to stopping DV offences),” an expert said.
Mr Ryan yesterday told State Parliament: “GPS tracking devices offer an extra layer of security in a world where, sadly, domestic violence continues to occur despite the best efforts of our government and our community.”
Mr Ryan explained the laws were changed last year to give the courts the option to put GPS trackers on perpetrators of domestic violence who are granted bail by the courts.
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