MEMPHIS – Memphis police are using tracking devices to monitor young offenders arrested with guns in an attempt to curb potential future violent gun crimes.
The Commercial Appeal in Memphis reports the use of the devices is part of a $2 million, federally-funded program to curtail crime using tracking equipment.
Police Director Larry Godwin says many of the 150 minors arrested with guns last year were allowed to return home on probation. He says the result is, they don’t fear the system.
The new initiative allows police and court officials to supervise the teen for one year through an ankle bracelet. But unlike some other tracking devices, these would keep a record of everywhere the detainee goes, transmitting the data in real time to police.
Police say this is a useful way to supervise troubled teens without putting them in jail.