Making mistakes is human. While it’s important to hold individuals accountable for their poor choices, especially decisions that harm others, it’s equally essential to provide offenders with a second chance.
Being sentenced to jail can dig a deeper hole for those who are already facing financial and societal challenges. By contrast, ankle monitors offer a structured way for individuals who have run afoul of the criminal justice system to remain within their communities without being behind bars. Electronic monitoring tools benefit individuals as well as their families and broader communities. Here’s a look at the positive communal impacts of electronic monitoring.
Reduced Jail Overcrowding
Many jails are at or over capacity. Adding more people to the mix can create safety and health hazards. Unfortunately, many who qualify for supervised release might remain incarcerated due to financial constraints. Electronic monitoring offers a viable alternative to payment-based (e.g., weekend work release) supervised release programs.
Helping pretrial defendants and parolees to remain out of jail via monitoring reduces taxpayer burdens and allows the criminal justice system to reserve limited detention space for higher-risk offenders.
Improved Rehabilitation and Reintegration
Separating a person from their loved ones and community can make it difficult for them to participate in valuable rehabilitation opportunities. Extended periods of incarceration also create reintegration issues. Electronic monitoring keeps individuals connected to their support systems and may discourage recidivism.
Additionally, individuals who are under electronic monitoring can continue to work and support their families. This shift can help break generational cycles of economic disparity and legal challenges by reducing the emotional and financial strain on the relatives of the accused.
Better Public Safety
Electronic monitoring provides courts with real-time location data on offenders and accused parties, allowing verification of compliance while promoting community safety. This flexibility clearly suggests that it’s possible to balance an accused individual’s right to a second chance with the safety of the community at large.
Judges no longer must choose between doing what’s right for the community and showing compassion for low-risk offenders. They can demonstrate empathy and uphold their duty to the criminal justice system at the same time.
Increased Equity
One of the most promising outcomes for electronic monitoring is its ability to make the justice system more equitable.
Traditional cash bail systems are an important part of the legal system. However, they disproportionately affect lower-income individuals. Systemic issues like these can have long-lasting consequences for less affluent communities and the families that inhabit them.
Electronic monitoring gives the courts a choice that meets all key legal requirements while allowing offenders and accused individuals to remain free with a potentially restructured bond and continue working to pay legal expenses.
Electronic Monitoring Promotes Second Chances
Ankle monitors and other GPS-enabled devices open the door for second chances while still protecting communities as a whole. If you or a loved one have encountered legal troubles, electronic monitoring could be an ideal option for ensuring accountability without completely sacrificing freedom. Speak to your attorney or accountability court advisor to see if this is a solution for your situation.
