Burglars Opt For House Arrest With GPS Tracking

Personal GPS Trackers Provide Prison Population Solution

The City of Santa Fe, NM introduced a new system designed to track convicted burglars by utilizing personal GPS trackers rather than putting them in jail. The Santa Fe Police began tracking the first offender last week. This new program will start with just five GPS tracking systemsin order to gauge its effectiveness and ability to collect data.

According to a report from ABC News, Santa Fe Police Capt. Aric Wheeler, said the idea for the program originated as an alternative to repetitive incarceration, which can get pretty expensive for taxpayers. They also found that jail time did very little to deter these repeat offenders from committing more burglaries.

In fact, Capt. Wheeler said that police often saw an immediate spike in burglaries as soon as the criminals got out of jail. “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem. You have to come up with new and creative ways to deal with them,”  Wheeler said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Couleur said the program targets individuals facing long prison sentences, those with a large number of burglary charges, or criminals who have a juvenile history of burglary. District prosecutors and police will work in conjunction with the offenders’ attorneys to evaluate their cases and see if the their clients should be included in the new GPS monitoring program.

GPS Tracking Program Can Prove Beneficial For Both Sides

Recently, the issue of unwarranted GPS vehicle tracking by law enforcement officials has become a hot button topic. The Supreme Court case involving a convicted drug dealer, who police monitored for a month without obtaining a warrant for the GPS device, has sparked a great deal of debate regarding the issue of an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights. This case eventually resulted in the Supreme Court stating that police had no right gathering evidence with a GPS vehicle tracker unless they first obtained a search warrant.

Regarding this new GPS tracking program, Couleur acknowledged that there are multiple issues that must be agreed to by the defendant in order to uphold the constitutionality of the program. “A person who goes into the program has to specifically consent to it because they waive any issues to unrestricted access to their data by police department,” according to Couleur.

A clause in the program also mandates employment. “They can contribute to society and they have to go out and get a job. We can reintegrate them into the community,”  Capt. Wheeler said. “If they truly want to be rehabilitated and they know ‘Big Brother’ is watching them, I’m hoping they will be more reluctant to commit burglaries again.”

The GPS ankle bracelets are capable of both passive and real-time tracking . Santa Fe police will track them passively for the most part, however, if there is reason for suspicion, such as multiple burglaries reported in one area, or if a crime fits the monitored burglar’s previous modes of operation, then police can send a request to the GPS device company, to get the real-time, live locations so they can intervene.

The plan, if deemed effective, could become cost-saving option for many cities and states who are struggling fiscally, as it could be a way to alleviate the financial toll often incurred by incarceration. It could also help the problem of jail overcrowding.  These issues were major catalysts in initiating the plan in Santa Fe.

Couleur told ABC News, “You can’t put everyone in jails. There is no money for new jails and there are no beds in the jails. There have to be alternatives for jails and this is a pretty good one.” Although still in its preliminary stages, Couleur believes the program has a lot of potential. Only time will tell.

Can Spiders Sense Danger?

“Can spiders sense danger?” This is one of the most common questions I hear about from my clients. The short answer is yes,spiders can sense danger. And if they don’t,why do so many people keep living with spiders?

Spiders use its Web to detect and sense dangers. Is spiders able to sense danger,or are they only capable of avoiding predators? In a related sense,both animals and insects have some sort of sense of danger. But they are different. Insects have well developed vision whereas spiders don’t.

Insects can only sense dangers in the direct light of their eyes. And spiders have well developed vision in the darkness. That’s why they don’t usually stumble upon their food sources in dark areas – light is not their best source of information. And when we ask,can spiders sense dangers,it’s because spiders are not nearly as agile as other insects or arachnids,which makes them much more likely to run than run away from a dangerous situation.

Another question that often comes up when people ask,can spiders sense dangers,is whether spiders can feel the emotions of others. While it’s fairly widespread knowledge that most spiders can sense human emotion,they don’t do so with as much sensitivity as dogs. Most dogs will run or lie down when they feel threatened. The reason for this is that dogs have much more complicated senses than spiders. Dogs can hear,smell and taste whereas spiders cannot.

Can spiders sense dangers by sight? Well,spiders do have sense of sight,but not as sensitive a sense as ours. They can distinguish between light and darkness and the different colors that are part of the rainbow,but they can’t smell or taste. And while some species have very well developed vision,others lack this. This means that while some can be fairly sensitive to changes in lighting,others can’t.

Can spiders sense danger through smell? Some,like the wolf spider,have very powerful olfactory senses. These can help them detect human beings or unfamiliar pet odors,but they aren’t nearly as sensitive to things like car exhaust. Smell is one of the only senses that most spiders have that we do not,so unless you’re really keen,you might want to pass.

Can spiders sense the presence of other animals or insects? They probably can,but most will avoid interaction with fellow spiders unless they’re defending themselves. Some will even actively search out and attack other insects,but you’ll rarely see this happening. And even then,unless there is a large colony of hundreds,it’s unlikely that any of the members will attack any other moving objects. And once again,unless there is a fight,most of them will run away. However,should there be an actual fight and your child or you get bit,you might find yourself in a life-or-death situation where your defense is important.

While we don’t know for sure how they sense danger,most of them are more afraid of us than of other things. It might make them less likely to come back into the house if they’re scared,but it’s also possible that they’re just plain frightened! Either way,it’s important to know how to deal with them if you’re worried. There are many books about spiders and various bites and treatments,and there’s plenty of information online,but remember that no matter what you think,spiders are generally not dangerous. And they’re also not evil!

And don’t worry too much about eating them. They’re not poisonous,and generally won’t harm a human unless they bite you accidentally (which is rare). Also,they’re not picky and will eat just about anything. And while their bites may look horrible to humans,they often don’t itch or be bothered by any typical mosquito-borne disease.

So,yes,they do feel very dangerous,but not in a harmful way. Spiders are generally shy and will generally avoid a lot of trouble if they can. They don’t normally cause harm to people,unless there is actually a threat to their lives – for instance,if they get stuck in your web and get stuck between your pages,and you don’t have a spider catcher,they may just walk away! But most of the time,they’re just very friendly and content when you’re around.

Note: Some breeds are known to have problems with humans,but spiders will rarely harm a human unless they are threatened directly. And if you’re spider-fearing and have never had a spider problem in your life,please don’t assume that you have one! As I said,spiders do not generally pose a serious threat to us,unless we make it ourselves. And if you do find yourself scared about some creepy crawlies that you come across,take the time to read this article about common spider fears,and you should be safe.