GPS seen as way to aid abuse victims

get an order of protection against you and now you get a monthly bill with it. this is getting out of hand. maybe the police should just do their jobs?

I agree this is getting out of hand.. They should make the person who requested to have a order of protection on someone foot a portion of the bill as well since they are requesting the service.

Yep, and a psycho hellbent on murdering someone then killing himself will think twice because he has a gps unit on. Give me a break, by the time the police are alerted that the bad guy is close to the victim both will be dead, and the police will clean up the mess as usual. CRIMINALS DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LAW! Let these women carry concealed handguns and they will be safe.

As the chamber quieted, Bassi recounted how Bischof wore a panic button around her neck and had security cameras and an alarm system installed but that her effort "still wasn't enough."

And I'm sure that since the guy under the protection order killed himself, his cell phone going off wouldn't have deterred him. Also, this is Illinois, with an ineffective police response, anyway. Who is going to pay for the monitoring station and instant responders?

"At least I could sleep at night when [my ex-husband] was on" GPS tracking,

Don't count on it here.

Not to mention that when the rapid responders don't, some government agency is going to be sued. I doubt that the 114 legislators will be personally paying that judgment. All this legislature can agree on is Pollyanna panaceas.

Don Killuminati wrote:

I agree this is getting out of hand.. They should make the person who requested to have a order of protection on someone foot a portion of the bill as well since they are requesting the service.

Wow, I had a different take. Some sociopath stalks you AND now you have to pay for it? Nice. I thought this was a great idea. A proactive way to protect women. Before-especially in domestic violence cases-if you called the police it was like well, you have to wait until he's actually attacking you before will do anything at all. Now men are saying well, now that you're getting the protection you were entitled to all along you should pay for it? Maybe now they'll actually arrest these guys. How about making these psycho guys pay for something instead of trying to make victims out of the women one more time.

Harmony wrote:

<quoted text>
Wow, I had a different take. Some sociopath stalks you AND now you have to pay for it? Nice. I thought this was a great idea. A proactive way to protect women. Before-especially in domestic violence cases-if you called the police it was like well, you have to wait until he's actually attacking you before will do anything at all. Now men are saying well, now that you're getting the protection you were entitled to all along you should pay for it? Maybe now they'll actually arrest these guys. How about making these psycho guys pay for something instead of trying to make victims out of the women one more time.

Sorry my friend, this is a upgrade to the current system and if one would really want the added peace of mind why shouldn't they pay a portion. I would think that making the one who the order of protection is against pay the whole bill would drive that person to really want to harm the person because you are costing him/her money. Bottomline, this sounds good on paper, but in reality if someone is gunho to harm another individual this won't do that much to protect the target...

This is a great idea....The alert can save lives.....If you don't want to be monitored don't threaten someones life!!!---If you have a restraining order against you...it should mean something...STAY AWAY!!!!!----If this save just one life or makes it easier for a person to function without the fear of a stalker then we should DEFINITELY have it!!!!! Thank god someone is taking this situation seriuosly.

The small minded thinking of some of these posts are astounding. Sure, victimize a victim more by making them pay to enforce an order of protection - something that should have been taken seriously by law enforcement and the courts all along.

Do any of you small minds know what it's like to be stalked or threatened with your life? Have you ever been with a friend who's just been battered or had the crap knocked out of them or scared to death because they just got a threatening phone call? I think not or you wouldn't be so quick with your comments. I have been there.

Violation of protection orders occur every single day and many violators are repeat offenders and all the courts have done is wag their finger and say don't do it again. And you are right that when a person is hell-bent on murder or suicide it's almost impossible to stop, but you forget, this just could be the deterrent some of these violators need. It is not a panacea, but it's better than what we currently have.

Having lived in the Newburyport, MA area I can see why they are enjoying success - the population of the city (smallest city in MA by the way) is less than 18000 and everyone knows everyone. Sorry to see so many on monitoring there - it's a great place to live.

Sure victimize the victim by making them pay for protection, just like the mob I guess. I can't beleive the small minded posts here.

Have you ever been with someome who has had the tar beaten out of them or just sits there shaking out of control from a threatening phone call? I think not, or you wouldn't be commenting like this. I have seen it.

You're right, it's hard to prevent someone who is absolutely determined to batter or murder from doing it, but just think for a moment, this may be just the deterrent some of these sociopaths need. It's better than the system of "hand slapping-don't do it again" by the courts we currently have.

Glad for the success they're having in MA - sorry so many in Newburyport are wearing bracelets. Lived in the area for years and the demographics make it easier there - population less than 18000 (smallest city in MA)and everyone knows everyone. Our legislators should follow suit and approve this bill.

I think this is an interesting approach. No, making the victim pay is inhumane, since it makes assaulting poor women somehow more acceptable and makes protection against violence a privledge, as opposed to a very basic human right. The one question I have to ask, however, is would this violate privacy rights, or would the act of receiving a protection order make that issue moot?

Legislation such as this is long over due Bravo to Illinois! As a survivor of domestic abuse and stalking I know first hand that abusers have the upper hand in regards to domestic violence restraining orders until now!
With the GPS technology the victims of domestic violence and stalking will now have "technology" as their witness. No longer will victims have to battle the proverbial "he said"-“she said" when reporting violations of their protective orders.
In many cases witnesses are reluctant to testify or get involved for fear of retaliation from the abuser or because they don't want to get involved in what could be a lengthy and time consuming court case. GPS technology will help change all of this!
Abusers have relied upon the many weaknesses of domestic violence restraining orders until now -as GPS technology utilized to enhance restraining orders will help "level out the playing field" so that abusers no longer have the upper hand! This is definitely a step in the right direction!
This legislation is long over due! Hopefully all 50 states will adopt similar legislation