Search Appropriateness Statement Package
Electronic Monitoring
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Electronic Monitoring – The evidence is inconclusive
Summary of the Evidence
- The evidence of the effectiveness of electronic monitoring (EM) to reduce recidivism is inconclusive.
- The empirical evidence is both limited and mixed.
- Evidence shows EM can be effective when combined with other programming (e.g., substance use treatment programs).
- The costs of EM can be a burden to the individual.
- Wearing EM technology in public can be stigmatizing to clients.
What Is Electronic Monitoring?
- EM is a generic term for electronic surveillance. It encompasses a variety of strategies such as radio frequency electronic monitoring, GPS (global position satellite) tracking devices, and voice recognition.
- A variety of probation conditions may utilize EM for accountability purposes, including:
- house arrest (Individuals are restricted to their house)
- curfews (limits on when a person can be outside of their residence)
- restraining orders (requirement that a person does not go near a home, facility, or other physical location)
How Is It Used?
- EM is typically used either to replace incarceration as a graduated sanction or to modify a sentence for greater monitoring.
- If an officer thinks a client needs more oversight, the officer should work with the court to authorize the addition of EM.
- Types of electronic monitoring include:
- home unit – client wears a transmitter (e.g., ankle monitor) that sends an alert if the client leaves a physical location or travels outside the monitor’s range
- passive GPS tracking – transmits the physical location of an individual; can be available through a smartphone
How Can It Be Used to Monitor Compliance?
- EM can track accountability and compliance.
- EM may be used as a graduated sanction.
- EM is most effective when used alongside evidence-based treatments.
How Can It Be Used as a Supervision Tool?
- EM by itself is not a “treatment” that directly targets values, cognitions, or skills.
- EM is a control tool that can increase the level of surveillance and reduce the capacity and opportunity to commit crimes.
- EM is most effective for medium- to high-risk clients when combined with evidence-based programming (e.g., substance use treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy).
- There’s some evidence that EM can be used to offer information to clients in real time related to their whereabouts (e.g., location of nearby substance-use meetings).
What Are the Costs of EM?
- EM can be a cost-effective alternative to incarceration.
- The costs of EM for an officer are mainly in time and effort, ensuring that the client is complying with the conditions of their sanction.
- The costs of EM for the client can be extensive.
- EM can present a substantial financial burden to a client.
- Clients’ financial circumstances should be considered when determining if/how much they contribute to the cost of EM.
- Clients can suffer from negative social stigma from having to wear the electronic monitoring equipment in public.
- Alternative GPS technology may be less intrusive to a client’s life (see phone-based monitoring statement).
- EM can present a substantial financial burden to a client.
What Do Supervision Staff Think About EM?
- Supervision staff report that EM is
- never appropriate for low-risk clients and
- sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.
Compliance Level
- Supervision staff report that physical sanctions like EM are
- sometimes appropriate for low-risk clients that are in low or moderate compliance with their supervision conditions,
- never appropriate for low-risk clients that are in high compliance with their supervision conditions,
- always appropriate for medium- to high-risk clients that are in low compliance with their supervision conditions, and
- sometimes appropriate for medium- to high-risk clients that are in medium or high compliance with their supervision conditions.
What Should You Expect When Using EM?
- EM is effective when it is being used (typically 3–4 months), but it is unclear whether this leads to a long-term reduction in criminal behavior.
- There is evidence of positive impact on medium- and high-risk individuals when combined with evidence-based treatment.
- This combination may not be effective for low-risk individuals.
- There is a small amount of evidence of positive effects on individuals who have committed sex offenses.
- Individuals on EM say it increases perceptions of being caught if they break the law and increases the effort required to both offend and avoid detection.
Is EM an Evidence-Based Practice?
- The evidence supporting EM is inconclusive. Evaluations are limited in number and their results are mixed.
What Do People Formerly Involved in the Criminal Legal System Think About EM?
- People with lived experience in the criminal legal system (the “criminal justice” or “legal” system is referred to as the criminal legal system in this document) report that EM is
-
- never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
- sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.
Communication That Reinforces Officers’ Role as Change Agent (Messaging)
- Officer should be aware of the restrictions EM places on clients at home and in the community.
- Officers should be aware of and acknowledge the potentially harmful effects for clients (e.g., shame, embarrassment) of being on EM.
- Officers should help clients develop strategies to manage these negative emotions.
- Officers should be aware of and acknowledge the potential financial burden placed on clients and their families when considering EM.
- Clients should be reminded of potential positive outcomes of EM (e.g., ability to keep working, not going to jail, remaining with family) when discussing EM.
- Officers should promote EM as an opportunity for the individual to demonstrate they can comply with conditions.
- Completion of an EM sanction should be presented as a way for a client to regain the trust of their officer.
Implementation Considerations
Enhancers
Pitfalls
- Officers who give EM in lieu of jail time can be seen as lenient.
- Officers should allow clients to voice the difficulties they experience with EM.
- Officers should present EM as an opportunity for the client to regain the trust of the officer.
- After successful completion of EM, a client should be in good standing on supervision.
Pitfalls
- Officers who are overly authoritarian when discussing EM or giving the sanction reduce the likelihood clients will comply with the conditions.
- If the financial burden of EM is not considered, EM could cause financial burdens that could reduce a client’s likelihood of success on supervision.
Special Considerations When Using Electronic Monitoring with Subpopulations
Gang-Involved
EM can be used to limit a gang-involved client from frequenting areas where they are most likely to spend time with fellow gang members or other delinquent peers.
General Violence
None
Intimate Partner Violence
EM can be used in accompaniment with restraining orders to ensure compliance. EM can also be used to limit a client’s movement away from areas where their victim frequents (i.e., home, place of work).
Serious Mental Illness
Individuals who have SMI may have increased difficulty both affording and complying with the conditions of EM.
Substance Use Disorder
None
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