Corrections Minister calls for GPS monitoring of domestic violence perpetrators
Tue 21 May 2013
Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has called for 24 hour GPS monitoring of serious domestic violence perpetrators following the conviction of ...
Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has called for 24 hour GPS monitoring of serious domestic violence perpetrators following the conviction of Christchurch man Nikki Roper for murdering his ex-girlfriend, Alexsis Tovizi. Tovizi was strangled only days after the prison release of Roper for a previous assault on the 21 year old mother. Tovizi had a Protection Order against Roper.
Tolley suggested the GPS monitoring, similar to monitoring of high-risk and child sex offenders, would be imposed by the Parole Board or sentencing judge. It would alert Corrections to intervene if a perpetrator was located in a "designated exclusion zone". Tolley has asked officials to investigate how the legislation could be extended to cover domestic violence offenders.
Monitoring perpetrator movements has been argued to provide better protection for victims than a protection order and is being heralded by some advocates in the United States. Carol Wick, CEO of Harbor House Orange County, is enthusiastic about the initative, saying "Right now, if I have an injunction against you and you violate that order, it is 100-percent my responsibility to report that and call the police. And by then it may be too late."
The mother of Tovizi believes monitoring is a "good first step" but advocated for at-risk women to be better informed to recognise signs of abuse early.
Media
Tracking mooted for high-risk domestic offenders, TVNZ, 16.05.13
Image
Maps: GPS tracking, Martin Deutsch. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Image: Martin Deutsch