FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone D-Berks www.pahouse.com/caltagirone

Caltagirone: Judiciary Committee hears testimony on sex offender legislation

HARRISBURG, July 29 – State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, today said after hearing testimony from state and law-enforcement officials, the committee would consider legislation that would require Global Positioning System tracking for sex offenders convicted of specific crimes.

Under the bill (H.B. 164), registered sex offenders who are determined to be sexually violent predators, along with those convicted of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and offenses against children, would be required to wear a GPS tracking system.

Caltagirone, D-Berks,  said as currently written, the state's Megan's Law only requires sex offenders to notify state police of their residence by mail annually, though violent predators are supposed to make notification four times a year.

"The GPS tracking system is an effective way to monitor sex offenders and could lead to increased public safety in our communities," Caltagirone said.

Auditor General Jack Wagner, who last week released a report urging the General Assembly to enact legislation to authorize a GPS tracking program for sex offenders, testified at the hearing along with several other state and law-enforcement officials. They included:

· state Rep. John Payne, R-Dauphin, sponsor of the bill;

· John Tuttle, deputy executive director, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole;

· Mark Bergstrom, executive director, Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing;

· Capt. Janet McNeal, director, Operational Records Division, Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Records and Identification;

· Lauren Taylor, executive director, Pennsylvania Sex Offender Assessment Board; and

· a representative from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

According to the auditor general's report, as of last month, the state had lost track of 923 of the nearly 10,000 sex offenders required to be listed on the Megan's Law Web site maintained by the state police.

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