A NEW WAY TO TRACK PAROLED SEX OFFENDERS

Newsday

When Andrew McDaniels, a convicted sex offender, was interviewed by a parole office inSeptember, he faced something new. The parole officer had a laptop computer receiving data fromskin sensors on McDaniels. When the parole officer noticed a blip, he asked more pointed questions.Soon, McDaniels acknowledged he had been around boys near upstate Watkins Glen. The parolee wasaccused of violating a condition of his release that requires him to stay away from children and heremains in Schuyler County Jail until a hearing this week. New York is the latest state to requireparoled sex offenders to answer questions while hooked to a lie-detecting computer. Sex offenderson parole will now be subjected to random life detector tests to ensure they are complying with theconditions of their release. A dozen specially trained parole officers armed with the laptopcomputer polygraph tests will ask each paroled sex offender a series of questions dealing withtheir lifestyles and activities.

(Albany, New York)