Sunday, February 7, 2016

Facts To Understand About House Arrest Monitoring

By James Wagner


Punishment of offenders in the society is shifting from the use of incarceration as the primary form of punishment. Cheaper alternatives such as house arrest are being researched and adopted as alternatives to incarceration, especially in countries where prison populations are very high. Technological advancements have made house arrest monitoring much easier as opposed to when it was the most challenging part of alternative programs. Today, law enforcement officers do not have to worry about offenders violating geographical provisions because such violations can be seen from a computer quite easily.

Many electronic devices have been invented to monitor the movement of offenders until they have successfully completed their punishment. The devices are used on adults as well as juveniles. The efficiency of electronic devices used to monitor the movement of offenders placed under house arrest is very high today. They indicate where the offender is located at any specific time. Geographical violations can be tracked throughout.

One example of an electronic house arrest monitor is called an ankle monitor. This device is also called a tether or an ankle bracelet. It is a small homing device that individuals on parole or under home arrest are required to wear at all times. The device transmits a radio frequency signal to a receiver indicating information about its location and other kinds of information.

A radio frequency signal is sent to the receiver in response to the violation when the wearer moves outside a specified geographical range. The receiver is another computer that could be located in a law enforcement facility or a government contractor. The design of ankle monitors makes them tamper proof. That has the implication that they notify the police when any attempts are made by the wearer to remove them.

The device relies on either a cellular or land-line network to transmit radio frequency signals to the receiving computer. The signal is usually in the form of an alert message that is relayed to the receiver. There are GPS units that are similar in design as ankle monitors only that they may require the wearer to carry a cell phone for receiving signals from the ankle unit. In some designs, both functions may be incorporated in ankle units.

A small research team at Harvard University is credited with the invention of electronic monitoring in the 1960s. Although invented in 60s, the first judicially sanctioned application of the process took place in 1983. At that time, Michael Goss was the only producer of these devices. The number of producers increased to six after six years. The number of ankle monitors deployed in the United States in 2006 was 130 000.

Uncertainty exists in the level of effectiveness of electronic monitoring devices in crime reduction. This is the case due to the fact that parole violators are always preparing to commit more serious crimes. The main reason why the devices were adopted was to deter criminal behavior. However, research has indicated that this strategy is not different from other diversion programs.

These devices are waterproof in order to prevent them from being damaged by water. They are small and light to avoid being inconvenient to wearers. Most of them come with a black casing.




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