Patent Application
20080218335
The question of disposition of criminals such as sex offenders and child molesters after they have completed their legal sentences after incarceration and are to be released as persons able to freely locate and travel in society, has pitted social norms and legal principles against each other, particularly in view of research and findings of widespread recidivism and renewed criminal activity of sex offenders after such release, particularly with regard to sex crimes against children. The consequences of such renewed criminal activity include physical injury, tragic loss of life, psychological trauma, and lost innocence of children, and therefore entail a very significant social issue.
Similar questions of societal harm arise in the context of severely dysfunctional family and interpersonal relationships, where there is a history or emergence of violence and intimidation directed against family members or romantic partners. Such circumstances may result in a threatened party obtaining a restraining order from a court. The restraining order may limit the physical proximity of the abusive person to the threatened party or parties, but existing conditions make enforcing such an order very difficult. Numerous cases have been documented in which a husband or boyfriend violated a restraining order but by the time police were notified and arrived at the location of the violation, the spouse, girlfriend and/or children were murdered or suffered grievous bodily injury.
It therefore is a fact that threats and intimidation are made and continue in violation of legal sanctions and protections, and that violence and the potential for violence are sufficiently pervasive as to warrant fundamental re-examination of the conventional systems that are utilized to protect innocent persons against harm and threats of harm from abusive family members and others known to have a propensity for violence.
The present invention relates to a tracking system for monitoring sex offenders and other criminals and alerting the police in a timely manner when such persons come into sufficient physical proximity to potential victims as to present a threat to the health and safety of such potential victims. In addition to saving lives and reducing crime, this system will reduce the costs of trying, sentencing and incarcerating such offenders. The present invention provides a solution that permits released offenders and criminals to retain their freedom, while alerting the police in a timely way when they attempt, or are in a circumstance or position to commit, a new crime.
The present invention relates to a control and alerting system which permits released offenders, angered spouses, etc. (hereafter “criminal”), to retain their freedom of movement, yet advise the authorities very quickly if the criminal has violated a court order and/or is in a physical position to commit a crime. The system includes four components:
In a typical embodiment of the technology of the present invention, the tracked criminal, e.g., a released sex offender, a disgruntled spouse, etc., is equipped with a bracelet or a similar attachment to his body (hereafter “bracelet”). The bracelet contains at least the following five components:
1. a transmitter that connects the bracelet wirelessly, via a telephone line or via another form of hard wire or communication infrastructure, to a central control room.
2. an active RFID source that continually interrogates the area close to the bracelet looking for other RFID devices.
3. an RFID receiving antenna that accepts the signal from the excited TT.
4. a tamper-sensor which activates the transmitter if the bracelet is removed or tampered with, and
5. a battery alert to tell the criminal that his bracelet battery is almost exhausted and needs replacement and alerts the CC where the criminal is, the status of his battery and the need for battery replacement. If the battery is not replaced in time, a second alarm may be issued and accompanied by a dispatch of police personnel.
As a possible sixth component, the bracelet may incorporate a Global Positioning System (GPS), to help locate the bracelet carrier.
The complementary components of the system are target RFID transmitters, and the TT, which are often passive RFIDs. The TTs may be placed in stationary places like a child's playground, or on people such as threatened wives or children. When the bracelet-carrying criminal comes into close proximity to a TT, the signal from its transmitter recognizes the TT by its frequency and learns at least two pieces of information: it establishes that the offender is in close proximity to the target, and it determines the target location and/or identity. The location is determined via a transmitted code from the TT or by the GPS component in the bracelet. This information, together with the offender's code, is instantly and automatically transmitted to the command center, most preferably wirelessly.
The Command Center, CC, has four interacting data bases, a receiver and transmission-dispatching capabilities. The data bases are:
Once the CC receives an alarm, it immediately identifies the offender, the location of the proximity contact and the closest authority that may be contacted and summoned to help at such location. The CC then immediately and automatically issues instructions to the relevant police department to dispatch people to the crime location and submits to them a file with the relevant information on the criminal, the victim, probation officers, etc. The fact that a criminal has violated a proximity order, e.g., a child molester has entered a children playground, is recognized instantly and may mean the difference between life and death, as relevant authorities are dispatched instantly and automatically. The system therefore accommodates the fact that the first few minutes and hours of such crimes are the most critical ones, with most victims being violated in the course of that first contact. The dispatched officers will have then with them: 1. the identity of the criminal, 2. his location, 3. a time stamp of the event, 4. the type of location where the criminal entered and/or the name and ID of the child near him.
In one embodiment, the target tag, TT, is placed in critical locations such as children's play grounds, schools, children's activity places such as after school clubs, etc.
In one embodiment, the target tag, TT, is placed on people such as children and warns the police and/or their parents if an offender comes close to them.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the target tag, TT, is an active device capable of communicating also with the CC, and is placed on people such as threatened spouses or children, to warn them and the police and/or their parents if an offender comes close to them.
In still another embodiment of this invention, the CC continually probes the ATs and obtains a signal back that identifies the transmitter and records its location. This configuration permits a continual tracking and recording of criminal locations with only a minimal physical intrusion on their daily routine. When the CC receives data from an AT indicating that the AT is in a close proximity to a TT, the CC can provide the investigators with a trace of the locations where the criminal has been. This information can be related to investigating authorities as a part of a criminal investigation of a crime, had the criminal been successful.
In one embodiment, the CC maintains a database that also includes a map of the area including for example schools, playgrounds, and locations relevant to the particular crime. These locations are denoted Forbidden Areas. Should the criminal enters a FA, the CC can immediately alert the authorities and dispatch police to the location, and thus avoid a potential crime before it happens.
In another embodiment of this invention, the CC may include a two-way communication system with the AT-carrying criminal. If the criminal enters a forbidden zone, the CC can give the criminal a warning signal to tell him that he is violating the conditions of his freedom, that he is being watched and that he must move away before the police arrive. A simultaneous or subsequent step may include dispatching police personnel to the area.
Another variant of the embodiment of this invention includes tagging solders or civilians with TT. The TT may for example be attached to a soldier, incorporated in clothing or equipment worn by such individual, or even introduced subcutaneously into his body. If the soldier is kidnapped, lost, or hidden, a search party can easily locate him even without first establishing visual contact. A search party with AT can detect the location of the kidnapped person very easily if he is tagged.
The nomenclature used in all the diagrams described hereafter includes the same elements. The various elements are:
It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrated embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms and applications without departing from the spirit or essential attributed thereof; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions.
