As part of his budget plan, Gov. Jim Doyle suggested altering the lifetime GPS monitoring system for convicted sex offenders originally proposed in 2006 and implemented in 2008. Under this revision in the 2009-11 proposed budget, sex offenders now under an active, or real-time, monitoring system would be give the option to switch to passive monitoring after the offender spends at least 12 months on monitoring with no violations. Passive monitoring still tracks offenders throughout the day but only sends the information every 24 hours.

This proposal, of course, has not evaded criticism from state Republicans, with Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, going so far as to say Doyle is essentially “letting [sex offenders] go on the streets of Wisconsin to save a few bucks.” But in light of Wisconsin’s projected $5.9 billion budget deficit, Doyle’s plan is appropriate at a time when nearly all sectors of the budget are facing cuts.

Considering the cost of the two programs — $8 per person per day for active monitoring and $4 for passive monitoring — reducing the number of sex offenders under active tracking could potentially save the state a considerable amount of money. If the projected 748 sex offenders eligible for lifetime GPS monitoring at the end of 2010 are placed under active monitoring, the state should spend approximately $2.18 million each year just in managing these offenders. Provided even half of these 748 offenders are placed under passive monitoring, this could save the state hundreds of thousands of dollars — and every little bit helps in this economy.

Saving a buck or two is certainly no reason to place the public in harm’s way. However, at the moment, these is no conclusive evidence as to whether a switch from active to passive monitoring of sex offenders will have any effect on recidivism rates whatsoever. Therefore, this change seems all the more practical.