Wisconsin Watch Media Partners Center (https://partners.wisconsinwatch.org/tag/sex-offender/)
Offenders, many in rural areas, say they have been jailed due to technical problems with bracelets; some experts question value of lifetime monitoring.
Courts are wrestling with whether electronic monitoring is too intrusive; meanwhile, Europe uses the technology sparingly over civil-rights concerns.
Ten percent of offenders scramble to find places to plug in bracelets, some cut them off, and local laws make it hard for released sex offenders to find housing.
Robert S. Gable and his twin brother invented one of the first monitoring systems for criminal offenders; he is dismayed by how they are used today.
Center reporter Nora Hertel and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Gilman Halsted were the first journalists since 2007 to tour Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, the Mauston facility that houses sex offenders who have been committed to the state.
Center reporter Nora Hertel and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Gilman Halsted were the first journalists since 2007 to tour Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, the Mauston facility that houses sex offenders who have been committed to the state.