SUMMARIES OF SELECTED CASES However, the Ombudsman also stated that the current municipality’s conception of the law in relation to rubbish collection services, including the municipality’s understanding of some of the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, was not correct in all respects. 2013-21. The use of GPS trackers and other personal alarm and tracking systems for adults with mental disabilities A father complained on behalf of his adult son, for whom he was also the guard­ian, because a municipal accommodation facility had not consistently used the GPS tracker which could be used for his son according to a decision by the municipality. Pursuant to section 125(1) of the Social Services Act, the municipality decided on the use of coercive measures towards the son in the form of using, among other things, a GPS tracker. The permission to use the GPS tracker was given for a period of eight months. In his complaint to the Ombudsman, the father claimed that the municipal accommodation facility was henceforth obliged to use a GPS tracker consistently for his son. This was in contrast to the municipality’s view that the decision to permit the use of a GPS tracker for the son did not imply an automatic obligation to use it. The Ombudsman noted that – pursuant to the provision in the Social Services Act and its explanatory notes − the use of a GPS tracker and other personal alarm and tracking systems was to be regarded as an infringement of the right to self-determination and as a coercive measure. Furthermore, the Ombudsman pointed out that – also pursuant to the statut­ory framework and its explanatory notes – a decision on the use of coercive mea­ sures must always be in reasonable proportion to the intended result, just as the use of coercion must be as gentle as possible and for the shortest possible period of time. This also implies that it must be assessed on an ongoing basis whether the conditions for allowing the use of coercion are still present. 149