Remaking the Electronic Tracking of Offenders into a “Persuasive Technology”

ABSTRACT

Mobile surveillance of offenders was first demonstrated more than 50 years ago, although not with the taken-for-granted punitive emphasis that it has acquired today. Contemporary use of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking indicates that it can reduce certain types of offenses while the person is being monitored; however sustained beneficial effects remain in doubt. Given the long history of numerous crime-fighting proposals, and the persistent orientation towards punishment, the probability that electronic tracking in its present forms will eventually prove to be a worthwhile advance is not great. This article explores the history of offender tracking technologies, including GPS tracking. The article also seeks to resurrect some of the original, nonpenal, hopes for mobility monitoring (using an array of digital systems and devices) with the intention of remaking electronic monitoring into a “persuasive technology.”

KEYWORDS:

• Persuasive technology
• tracking

Notes

Jack Love, Michael Goss, David Hunter, Ricardo Rivera, and Glen Rothbart generously provided historical information to Robert Gable during in-person or telephone interviews in 2006. Any factual errors in this account are the responsibility of the interviewer.

Telephone interview with David Hunter by Robert Gable, December 19, 2006.