On Wednesday, I found out my attempts to hide were futile. Omnilink representatives were able to call up a map on their computer of everywhere I went, starting with pinpointing exactly where my car was parked in the rear of the school. A screen listed all of the places I traveled, even in the canyon and mall. A three-dimensional image of the area also was displayed, outlining my trail.

Even if the map addresses listing my location were off by a house or two, another column listed my longitude and latitude, which is what police would use if they needed to find me, Omnilink Vice President Daniel Graff-Radford said.

The ankle monitors can determine a person's location within 60 feet at any time, Winder said.

Off-limit areas, such as a house or business where a witness or co-defendant may be staying, can be programmed into the ankle monitor. If the offender travels inside the so-called "exclusionary zone," an alarm will sound, immediately alerting officers. They also are notified if someone wearing a monitor tampers with it or tries to remove it.

Winder noted, however, that prisoners with violent offenses are ineligible for the ankle monitor program, which is reserved mainly for those with drug and property crime offenses. Currently, the sheriff's office averages about 90 prisoners per month on ankle monitors. The initial goal is to increase that by 50 if the office can secure enough funding to use deputies who are able to watch the extra prisoners.

The cost of the new ankle-monitoring program averages $6 per day per offender, Winder said. Another proposal under consideration would require the offender wearing the monitor pay for the device.

The sheriff says there has been less than a 1 percent escape rate with the electronic monitoring program.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com