Electronic Monitoring of Criminal Cases in NC- There is a requirement...Did you know?

Are all GPS anklets the same? 

No. 

Does North Carolina have certain requirements for monitoring criminal offenders? 

Yes.

To monitor a criminal case in North Carolina the GPS device must be a single-piece unit, capable of holding a 48-hour battery life on a single charge while recording a person’s location at least once a minute 24 hours a day.
More detail is found in G.S. 15A-101.1. 

SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 15A-101.1 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: "§ 15A-101.1. Electronic technology in criminal process and procedure.

As used in this Chapter, in Chapter 7A of the General Statutes, in Chapter 15 of the General Statutes, and in all other provisions of the General Statutes that deal with criminal process or procedure:

(3a) "Electronic monitoring" or "electronically monitor" or "satellite-based monitoring" means monitoring with an electronic monitoring device that is not removed from a person's body, that is utilized by the supervising agency in conjunction with a Web-based computer system that actively monitors, identifies, tracks, and records a person's location at least once every minute 24 hours a day, that has a battery life of at least 48 hours without being recharged, that timely records and reports or records the person's presence near or within a crime scene or prohibited area or the person's departure from a specified geographic location, and that has incorporated into the software the ability to automatically compare crime scene data with locations of all person's being electronically monitored so as to provide any correlation daily or in real time. In areas of the State where lack of cellular coverage requires the use of an alternative device, the supervising agency shall use an alternative device that works in concert with the software and records location and tracking data for later download and crime scene comparison."

Warden: Prison numbers are down, re-entry programs working

A lower inmate population in Lycoming County since last April was attributed Friday at the monthly prison board meeting to re-entry programs working.

“They are working and are far less costly than incarceration,” said Brad Shoemaker, county prison warden.

Inmate population for April was 337 compared to 398 in April a year ago, he said.

Having 61 fewer male and female inmates in April than that month a year ago is indicative of programs working to reduce higher incarceration population and costs on taxpayers, he said.

The prison is down by 77 commitments in the first quarter of the year, Shoemaker said.

Additionally, there were 216 commitments compared to 228 commitments in 2017, he said.

In addition, Shoemaker has transitioned into the position of warden following the recent retirement of Kevin DeParlos.

DeParlos was credited by the commissioners earlier this month in continuing to set these programs into motion, especially since 2011, as the nation’s heroin epidemic took hold and the city and region experienced the glut in drug-related crimes, according to Shoemaker.

Getting the inmates who are qualified into re-entry and monitoring them at the center in Executive Plaza has paid dividends, Shoemaker said.

Officials from adult probation and the judiciary also weighed in on the positively-developing trend.

“We’ve expanded the bail release program at jail and are getting help from our judges and the officials in the courts,” said Ed McCoy, chief of the Adult Probation Department.

“Electronic monitoring can be the equivalent of jail,” said county President Judge Nancy L. Butts, a huge supporter of re-entry programs and drug court, mental health provisions and other means to assist those who are trying to re-enter society after serving sentences.

Shoemaker said many people don’t realize the cost of keeping an inmate includes intangibles such as medical bills, which include dental work.

“We don’t look at the inmate and say, ‘You got bad teeth. Too bad,’ “ he said.

Last month a spike occurred in the cost of dental care for the month, and it amounted to more than $11,000.

Efforts are made to try to get inmates off of drugs and alcohol, with 48 receiving alcohol monitoring services and 18 who are monitored using satellite technology.

The cost savings is $2.4 million for the 465 “clients” in this service, according to adult probation officials.

Another factor in helping to reduce overall cost on taxpayers, has been upgrades to Clinton County Correctional Facility, said Sheriff Mark Lusk. Because of these upgrades, when overcrowding is occurring, the facility can be used and it is much closer than Centre or Tioga counties’ facilities.

The typical transfer to the facility near McElhattan can take sheriff’s personnel an hour and a half, saving possible overtime costs and travel related expense, he said.

The neighboring county prison can take up to 15 to 20 inmates on a daily basis in the case of overcrowding. Four inmates recently were taken to Clinton County and brought back after two days.

That piqued County Commissioner Jack McKernan’s interest, who asked if all four inmates were taken to the same location, and he discovered from officials that they were.

Commissioner Rick Mirabito said the commissioners were expected to meet Friday with Clinton County officials and would be “pushing for that” closer transfer in the event of overcrowding. “It saves us hours and transportation costs and overtime salaries,” Mirabito said.

About 12 of the inmates last month were federal detainees, a big issue for some because of staff reductions in area Bureau of Prison facilities in Allenwood and Lewisburg, Shoemaker said.

Another cost saving measure is the county is renting space to the U.S. Marshals Service at the prison at a daily rate, Shoemaker said.

Cited with Recognition for Services to Courts and Treatment Centers, Cartret and Camp Receive 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Cited with Recognition for Services to Courts and Treatment Centers, Cartret and Camp receive 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Award 

Raleigh, NC- Mark Cartret, a Whiteville business owner and Jim Camp, were awarded “2018 Entrepreneur of the Year” at the North Carolina 6th Annual Small Business Week Awards Luncheon held in the Raleigh Hilton conference center on May 3. 

Cartret and well-known Charlotte entrepreneur James D. “Jim” Camp were chosen from a list of candidates which included other presidents and CEO’s from across the state. Their company Continuous Alcohol Monitoring LLC was cited as “offering products that revolutionized the way courts, agencies and treatment providers monitor alcohol-involved offenders. 

This option not only reduces the County and States’ daily inmate fee but helps the inmate maintain gainful employment, retain ability to pay child support and be a productive member of society.”

“This is a tremendous honor bestowed by some truly great people. 

We humbly accept this award on behalf of our executive team. We wouldn’t be here except for their hard work at helping others succeed. 

If you are able to help others, it is a worthy opportunity that you should always strive for in business and in life” Cartret said. 

Cartret, a current governor-appointee, was previously cited in 2003 in the Wall Street Journal as a “Businessman of The Year” from North Carolina.