NCJ Number
197262
Journal
Journal of Offender Monitoring Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer/Fall 2002 Pages: 5,16-19,20
Date Published
2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the history and use of electronic monitoring programs, including a detailed analysis of the legal challenges that plague its use.
Abstract
Since its inception in 1983, the use of electronic monitoring programs by the criminal justice system has encountered legal challenges. The authors explore these legal issues and provide the history and a description of the use of electronic monitoring programs. The first use of electronic monitoring at a program level occurred around 1984 in Palm Beach, Florida. At that time, the technology involved using radio signals to detect the presence of an object. Today, the technology has been improved and now incorporates global positioning and cellular technology to track offenders. Correctional agencies view electronic monitoring as a less expensive alternative to incarceration, however, the authors explain that there are potential pitfalls involved with the use of electronic monitoring programs. For example, opponents of electronic monitoring claim that this practice is inappropriate for the nonviolent offenders who seem to be the primary client base. Legal problems posed by the use of these programs include issues of equal access to the technology, the rights to privacy and against self-incrimination, and evidentiary problems arising from the use of technology and its reports in courts. The authors note that most federally based challenges to electronic monitoring have been resolved in favor of the electronic monitoring programs. The authors go on to detail many of these cases, including Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Chiappini, Bailey v. State of Maryland, as well as many others. In conclusion, the authors offer many strategies that administrators of electronic monitoring programs can employ in order to avoid the legal challenges that have been associated with these programs. References