NSW to criminalise secret GPS tracking after report highlighting number of devices bought by DV offenders
Summary
The New South Wales (NSW) government will introduce a law to make secret GPS tracking a crime, especially when it is used to stalk or control someone without their knowledge. This change follows a report showing many domestic violence offenders use tracking devices to monitor victims.Key Facts
- A man in regional NSW used a GPS tracker to follow his wife before killing her and himself.
- The NSW Crime Commission’s 2024 report found that many domestic violence offenders buy GPS trackers to monitor victims.
- Current stalking laws in NSW did not fully cover secret GPS tracking when the victim did not know about it.
- New legislation will criminalize secretly monitoring someone if it would cause fear of harm.
- The law will not criminalize parents tracking social media use or other harmless monitoring.
- The government will also create offences for hiring others to stalk people or promoting illegal surveillance devices.
- From 2010 to 2023, 82% of unauthorized tracking device charges in NSW involved domestic violence.
- NSW has made other domestic violence law changes recently, including criminalizing coercive control and tightening bail laws.
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