This NEEDS to be a Thing...

In 2001 I was kidnapped and raped by my ex-husband who has served a "life sentence" for the crime, but what people don't understand is that "life in prison" means about 12 years, which means that this year he will be released back into the general population in October.

Now this has me in a general state of OMFG, because although I have taken measures to increase security... I really have nothing to protect me but an admonition from the court, and well, if a criminal were keen on following those type things, they would not be a criminals in the first place.  

So here's the thing that should be a THING, and all the groundwork is already laid out for this.  The technology wasn't there when he was prosecuted, but it's there now, and it's time that the justice system caught up with the times.

Right now my iphone alerts me to impending tornados, amber alerts, and other things, so why then can there not be a gps tracker implanted in released felons, and then have victim protection software that notifies you when they are close, giving the victim a heads up to vacate the area, avoiding any potential opportunity for violence.  Makes sense.  It's only for people who have already committed violent crimes, so it's not a tracking of the general populace, just violent criminals, just those who have proven to be threats.  Obviously it won't protect against those who have no record, but there are the usual suspects.  If nothing else it would be peace of mind for those in a similar situation to mind.  If the government really wants a Victim Protection Act, then this is the way to go about it.

As violent sex offenders are more likely to repeat offend than any other form of criminal, it would be a way for law enforcement to GPS local felons when they visit a crime scene and track whether or not a convicted and released felon were in the area at the time of the crime. Think how many return to the scene of the crime, how many cold cases could be solved, and how many repeat victims could be saved additional trauma from a vengeful felon.

Right now we have a violent sex offender list where the offenders have to register where they live, and can't live close to schools.  However the monitoring on this must be lax, because we have seen this not matter much, being that we live near a couple schools.  If violent sex offenders were also tagged, you could be on the playground and get a warning that there was one in the area, and reduce risks to your kids.  Schools could have alerts to let them know these people were on school grounds and send security to handle it.  Perhaps even limiting school shootings.

When it comes down to it, I am probably more worried about my attacker coming after my daughter than me, and if schools had such a setup, alerting them if my attacker were nearby, I know that I would have far more peace of mind dropping her off at school and not worrying that might show and try to snatch her.

With the prevalence of domestic abuse in the US, I know that I am not alone in this situation.  I know there are other women who have suffered similar situations, and could benefit from such a program.  I know that these resources would be very valuable to law enforcement in crime prevention and solving.

The only thing is that the legislation needs to be passed and implemented.   For all my tax dollars being used on things I don't want, it would be nice if they would spend them on a program that would benefit victims of violent crimes.