Parole to monitor more gang members with GPS

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

State corrections officials are increasing the use of satellite tracking for gang members on parole.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation currently monitors about 160 high-risk gang members. With new legislation this year, the department plans to increase that to 1,000.

“California has taken a bold step in focusing its attention and resources on those gang members identified as posing the highest risk to the public,” said the department’s secretary, Matthew Cate. “We are committed to improving supervision of gang members which will help increase public safety.”

As part of a gang sweep in Fresno and Clovis, concluded Wednesday, 80 new gang members were outfitted with the global positionining system ankle bracelets. The department says lower supervision of non-serious, non-violent and non-sex offenders has allowed better supervision of those deemed higher risk.