The Nation - News from Feb. 2, 1987

Two years of successful use in 20 states has increased interest in electronic tracking devices to check on the movements of parolees, probationers and individuals awaiting trial for minor offenses, a Justice Department agency reported. James K. Stewart, director of the National Institute of Justice, said monitoring devices that vary according to the degree of supervision required have been used in 45 programs involving 900 individuals. He said that “at a moderate cost” the systems verify that those under supervision “really are where they are supposed to be.”