Company promotes device for sex offenders to wear

The ankle bracelets cost between $75 and $150.

By MARC KOVAC

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBUS — A Chagrin Falls company showcased for lawmakers a device that would alert parents to the presence of sexually oriented offenders and warn offenders when entering areas not allowed under the terms of their convictions.

Sen. Tim Grendell, a Republican from Chesterland and chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary-Criminal Justice Committee, invited representatives from the Offendar company of Chagrin Falls to demonstrate the device for lawmakers and others Wednesday.

The committee has been assigned more than a dozen bills related to sexually oriented offenders over the past 10 months.

Ron Crowl, president of Offendar, said his company is developing an ankle bracelet that could be worn by offenders and a key-sized fob that could be worn on backpacks or key chains by individuals interested in monitoring offenders’ movements.

The bracelets, which would cost an estimated $75-$150, would vibrate or send some other type of silent alarm to offenders when they move into places where children congregate.

He or she would have time to leave the vicinity before alarms are set off on comparable monitoring devices, which could be setup along perimeters of schools.

The devices would include built-in memory, allowing probation officers to check offenders’ movements and determine how quickly they leave prohibited areas.

The fobs could be bought for $15 to $45 and would vibrate, light up or otherwise notify parents, children and others whenever sexually oriented offenders are near.

“We believe this is proactive, it’s affordable and it’s lawful,” Crowl said. “It alerts the public to protect themselves against immediate threats.”

Neither the offender’s ankle bracelet nor the fob would pinpoint the location of an offender, Crowl said. And the devices aren’t designed to draw attention to offenders — rather they’re aimed at making wearers more diligent about their surroundings.

“Our intention is not to provide a system that creates uncomfortableness for the offender,” Crowl said. “What we’re trying to do is alert the public that there’s a potential threat.”

Offendar has filed a patent on the devices and could move forward with further development and production if state or federal lawmakers mandate their use by offenders. The detection fobs would be available to anyone interested in buying them, Crowl added.

mkovac@dixcom.com