Politics & Government

County to Launch New Court for Sex-Offender Cases

Program could be model for others in state and might spur GPS tracking of offenders.

Pennsylvania’s first sex-offender court will launch in June in Allegheny County, state and local officials announced last week.

 The court is a test case for the state and will handle the roughly 300 cases the county sees each year, ensuring that they move through the system more quickly. Allegheny County Common Pleas President Judge Donna Jo McDaniel will preside over the special court, which will give her and two other judges time to focus on the complex cases.

Pennsylvania will be the third state to set up a sex-offender court. The pilot program in Allegheny County could be expanded to other areas of the state in a year or so if it is deemed successful.

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“Allegheny County courts have always been very pro-active in creating specialized courts,” said Steve Schell, spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

In a news conference last week at the county Courthouse following the announcement about the new court’s establishment, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said he hopes the special court also will be a launch pad for an initiative he’s been pressing for – GPS tracking of violent offenders.  

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He said he believed the county could economically and successfully use GPS to track the whereabouts of offenders around the clock, based on a draft of a report he received from Red Five Security. The consulting firm, which is based in Alexandria, VA but has an office in Pittsburgh, was hired last year to run a series of tests using GPS tracking units affixed to bracelets and worn by 45 convicted and registered sex offenders.

 The tests took place from mid-January to mid-March. The final report, which is expected in 30 days, will outline equipment specifications and lessons learned regarding monitoring procedures. County officials will use the report to decide whether to move forward on contracting with vendors and implementing the tracking devices.

 A budget proposal is still in the works, Zappala said today, but he added that he believed money could be found for the program chiefly through re-prioritizing current spending.

 His goal, he said, is to extend the use of GPS monitoring devices to all convicted violent offenders on parole or probation, juvenile delinquents and possibly even to those who fail to pay child support in Allegheny County.


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