While I was reading about the chip fraud in China, I noticed their news agency also reported some interesting news:

California plans to map the homes of nearly 2,000 sexual offenders by using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite technology to certify they are staying far enough from schools, local media reported on Sunday. […] According to the department, parole agents will begin using GPS technology this week to measure the distance between schools and residences of 1,808 high-risk sex offenders. And as part of a pilot program, 417 high-risk offenders will wear GPS electronic ankle bracelets that will make it easier for parole agents to track and monitor their movement. The device sends an alert when an offender goes into forbidden zones.

This strategy seems unlikely to produce effective security. GPS devices have little chance of reporting position when they are indoors and it’s pretty trivial to block the signal. Another thing is that I just did a quick check of a mapping site and found many sex offenders live near schools; one even lives directly accross the street.

CBS in San Francisco has some more background on the decision to introduce GPS devices and who will get them:

The department said parole agents will begin using GPS technology this week to measure the distance between schools and residences of 1,808 high-risk sex offenders. The state classifies a person as a high-risk offender based upon previous offenses, the number of victims in a crime, the level of violence of a crime and the likelihood a person will re-offend, said department spokeswoman Elaine Jennings. The Schwarzenegger administration on Wednesday dismissed its director of the prison system’s parole division, Jim L’Etoile, after lawmakers complained that 23 offenders had been housed within 11 miles of Disneyland. The department has also been criticized for temporarily placing a dozen sex offenders at San Quentin State Prison when they could find no other housing. Officials said a hotel contract was canceled and there were few alternatives in the San Francisco Bay area. The corrections department is required by law to return parolees to their county of last legal residence. The state also tracks 417 high-risk offenders with a GPS ankle bracelet as part of a pilot program to monitor and track their movement. The device sends an alert when an offender goes into forbidden zones.