Electronic Monitoring

Electronic monitoring (EM) was established in November, 1989, to provide supervision for offenders who would otherwise be incarcerated; allow for inmates with medical problems to be released from jail; to reduce jail overcrowding; and to act as a reintegration tool for offenders coming out of residential settings, when deemed appropriate. Electronic monitoring was utilized as a component of the Pre-trial Services program when the program began in February, 1990.

Since electronic monitoring was established as a tool to enhance supervision, offenders released into the Pre-trial Services program have increased, placing greater demands on the program resources. The Community Justice Plan was amended and approved for fiscal year ’95 for additional funds to support the expansion of the program. The program averaged 46 offenders per month in ’00, remaining steady from FY ‘97. The average number of days on electronic monitoring during fiscal year ‘00 was 81 days.

The program served 210 offenders overall, providing 16,989 person days of electronic monitoring. Person days are calculated by computing the total number of days each participant was on electronic monitoring.

The following table illustrates the number of offenders by electronic monitoring type served from fiscal years ’98- ’00:

The program completion rates have remained fairly stable since the program began.

During fiscal year ’00, 166 individuals were discharged from the program; 66% (110) completed the program; 27% (45) were unsuccessfully discharged due to rule violations and 7% (11) due to inappropriate placement. Since most of the offenders are considered high risk, a 66% success rate is considered exceptional.

The following table illustrates electronic monitoring discharge data by type:

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