SJC Exchange Library

Hi friends,

As you are probably all aware, cities are drastically expanding their use of electronic monitoring (EM) to surveil people on pretrial release and other vulnerable populations. Yesterday afternoon, the Prison Policy Initiative published a briefing aggregating the major reasons why electronic monitoring is not a replacement for reducing pretrial detention.

We published this piece in the wake of the Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services's recent announcement that it will expand EM for pretrial release to 70 Illinois counties, a move that threatens to undermine the state's groundbreaking Pretrial Fairness Act.

Our piece draws on local and national studies to explain that:

• The few conclusive studies about electronic monitoring's effectiveness find that it does not increase court appearances.
• EM technology is highly prone to generating "false alarms."
• Expanding EM leads to more people being jailed for "technical" (non-criminal) violations of supervision.
• While EM is often framed as replacing brick-and-mortar incarceration, evidence from cities like San Francisco and Houston refute the claim that it helps to bring jail populations down.
• Many EM programs (though not in Illinois) charge steep fees, creating financial burdens for a low-income population.
• EM makes it harder for people to find and maintain employment, restricts them from accessing medical care, and strains their social relationships.

You can read the full briefing here: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2023/10/30/electronic_monitoring/ 

I hope this is useful in your work!

Take care,

Wanda

Prison Policy Initiative