In March 1993, Rolleen McIlwrath became the first California judge to sentence a stalker to an advanced electronic monitoring system designed to protect victims of domestic violence. Judge McIlwrath has personally monitored the offender and is impressed with the system's potential. The stalker's sentence was to have ended in November 1994.
An overcrowded jail compelled her to take another look, and today she is a self described "touter" of electronic monitoring.
"The jail situation in California is horrible," she explained. "It has become very frustrating to me as a judge to sentence someone to one year in jail and instead have that person back on the street within 30 days. It's like losing total control over your sentencing power. Judges tailor sentences to meet the crime. That ability has been taken away from us. Electronic monitoring gives judges another means of sentencing."
Shortly after attending a workshop earlier this year by Sentencing Alternatives, an electronic monitoring vendor, on the latest technology, Mcllwrath heard a stalker case in her court. The defendant was stalking his former girlfriend, showing up at her workplace and a doctor's appointment.
"Stalking is a misdemeanor for the first offense," she said. "A second offense is a felony, but that could also be a homicide. It's a worrisome situation for a judge because most of our homicides occur in domestic situations.
This case was a very difficult ongoing situation. It was pretty scary that he knew about her doctor's appointment. He definitely was off base mentally and needed counseling. I was very concerned about what was going to happen."
Mcllwrath immediately recalled a device demonstrated at the workshop that detects a stalker if he or she ventures into a restricted area around the victim. The SHIELDŽ, manufactured by Sentencing Alternatives, is an electronic monitoring system designed to put teeth into restraining orders. The stalker is tracked via an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle.
"I became really concerned that since stalking is only a misdemeanor, the stalker in my court would be out of jail long before his full sentence was served, especially since he had already spent some time in custody," she said. Mcllwrath decided that the new technology she had seen demonstrated would be a better alternative than jail in this case. The stalker accepted Mcllwrath's terms, including mandatory counselling and wearing the electronic device to ensure he complied with the restraining order prohibiting him from contact with his former girlfriend. He is paying $12.50 a day for the monitoring equipment that tracks him as well as the devices that alert the victim if he violates the restraining order.
Since The SHIELDŽ is new technology, this case is considered a pilot project. In an unusual move, Mcllwrath agreed to be on call at night and on weekends to deal with the offender if he breaches terms of his sentence or tampers with the device - which he has on several occasions. A probation officer is on call during regular business hours.
"Without electronic monitoring, the victim has no sense of security," she explained. "I was really concerned about the victim and thought it would be a good experience for me to be on call. I call the offender if he's out of line and scold him over the phone and again in court on Monday."
Violations include missing counseling sessions, arriving home from work late, and trying to remove the bracelet.
"Even the slightest disruption can trigger a call to the monitoring system," Mcllwrath said. "One time the defendant took his tree trimmings and garden refuse to a site just outside the perimeter. The report showed he left at 10:57 a.m. and returned at 11:03 a.m. Meanwhile, the victim was notified of his whereabouts. I was contacted and able to call him and determine it was an inadvertent mishap. Being on electronic monitoring is like Big Brother - someone is watching you around the clock."
The detection device is constantly monitored from Sentencing Alternatives' Anaheim headquarters, which has the ability to track offenders nationwide, including Hawaii and Alaska.
Victor Dominguez, division manager of Sentencing Alternatives, described The SHIELDŽ as an "expansion of electronic monitoring technology to help protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalkings who have obtained restraining orders. This technology provides a way for victims to protect themselves from being further victimized."
Receivers are installed at locations where the victim frequently goes and where the offender might make contact, such as the victim's home and worksite or a relative's home.
"We establish a perimeter," he explained. "If the offender approaches one of these locations, there is an immediate signal to the monitoring center. The center immediately contacts the victim by telephone or pager, which gives her an opportunity to take defensive action, and local law enforcement."
The center can provide extensive information to law enforcement about the victim and offender - including the type of vehicles each is driving, and details about the restraining order. The center can also tie law enforcement into a three way conversation with the victim.
The victim also wears a special pendant around her neck with a push button that transmits a signal to the center if she is in a life threatening situation.
Since Mcllwrath spearheaded The SHIELDŽ in California, the technology has "snowballed," according to Dominguez. It is now being used in Marion County, Indiana, and his firm has been contacted by agencies in Hawaii, Kentucky, New York and Chicago.
"We're extremely impressed and pleased with judge Mcllwrath's level of commitment," he said. She certainly put herself on the front line and now has first hand knowledge of the system."
Mcllwrath is convinced this is the best state-of-the-art technology on the market and is tamper proof.
"The technology knows exactly where the offender is suppose to be, and if he isn't there, it goes off," she said. "Five years ago, I would not have even considered electronic monitoring because offenders were serving their time in jail. There are still fears about electronic monitoring because people would rather have offenders behind bars. But I think supervisors and people who run counties need to know the truth: when offenders are released early from jail, we don't know where they are."
Electronic monitoring is not intended for violent offenders, she emphasized. It is designed for stalkers and domestic disputes, substance abusers and other misdemeanants - the very offenders who are released from jail early if it is overcrowded.
Mcllwrath is also convinced that in some cases, electronic monitoring may be a more effective tool than jail to help offenders straighten out their lives. Electronic monitoring is 10 times cheaper than jail, she added.
"The victim benefits and certainly society benefits from this technology," she said. The taxpayers are not paying for it - the offender is. The defendant benefits from counseling, which he wouldn't get in jail. And the court benefits because it knows where the defendant is 24 hours a day. Everybody wins."
