Parolees Tracked by Phone (Martha is not!)

I feel obligated to note that Martha Stewart is now being tracked via GPS, having completed her jail sentence last week. More interesting, though, is that in Minnesota those on parole are not using the Уankle braceletФ version but rather simple cheap cell phones! Probation officers can track the parolees, who must answer the phone when it rings. Parolees canТt Уcall out.Ф I like the idea of using Уoff the shelfФ aka УcheapФ technology where appropriate. While the AP article doesnТt say, I suspect the Уphone + tracking serviceФ is far cheaper than MarthaТs arrangement.

Indland Empire Crime Maps

A regional website for crime is online just for selected police departments. But a few cities are making their data public,  (free registration required)
including Redlands, California. And, yes, the Redlands Police were selected to test Compass complete with a National Institute of Justice grant in part because of its relationship with local company ESRI and the University of Redlands. In fact, if you visit the website and look at the crime data for Redlands, ESRIТs address is the default.