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Girl Killed by Sex Offender Wearing GPS Device, Police Say

Murder of teen could cast more doubt on GPS transmitters' effectiveness as a public safety 'silver bullet.'

Police in Vancouver, Wash., say as a GPS tracking device was transmitting the location of convicted sex offender Darrin Sanford, he was in the process of killing 13-year-old Alycia Nipp, according to a CNN report.

Authorities used the GPS to corroborate Sanford's confession. Experts have sounded warnings recently that GPS monitoring is not the silver bullet for protecting the public that judges and the public might think it is.

The Nipp case could add evidence to recent problems, outlined in a Government Technology magazine article that cast doubt on GPS monitoring in protecting the public from sex offenders.