Prosecutors in Colorado`s Arapahoe County will be the first in the country to use an electronic monitoring system to keep stalkers away from their victims.
Stalkers accused of violating restraining orders for the second time can volunteer to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and forego jail time. Stalkers will have to pay the $10 daily cost for the bracelet.
Victims will have receivers in their homes; when their alleged stalker comes near, the receiver will sound an alarm. The noise alerts victims and silently notifies a private monitoring company, which calls police.
That eliminates one of the difficulties of prosecuting such cases, said Arapahoe County Dist. Atty. Robert Gallagher.
”Until now, all we`ve been able to do is put the victim on the stand and let her explain what happened,” Gallagher said. ”It`s her story against his. When he gets up there, he says he didn`t do anything, he was out playing pool and here`s his buddy to back it up.”
One problem is that the victim`s receiver is not mobile, and she is still vulnerable when she leaves home. Gallagher said technology is moving rapidly and soon there would be mobile receivers.
While wearing the bracelet, the accused stalker will be required to go through a 12-week ”stabilization” program and enter therapy.
Gallagher pushed for legislators to pass a law this year that makes stalking a crime with a maximum punishment of two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
