Electronic monitoring meant to help offenders change
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By NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star
What kind of jewelry does a person under house arrest wear?
An ankle bracelet, of course.
But the lowly ankle bracelet can do many things these days.
Electronic reporting system
- Used with 2,549 offenders at low risk of offending again.
- Probationer reports by phone to computer-assisted device, answering a series of questions. Equipment provides reminders to probationers about unpaid fines or unfinished programs. Probation officers are notified if person fails to call in.
- No cost to probationer.
- Example: An 18-year old with no prior record is placed on probation for first offense. She works part-time and attends college. Her assessment indicates no substance abuse or mental health issues. Her nine-month probation includes a 15-hour alcohol education program, defensive driving course and attending victim impact panel.
- Used with 80 probationers.
- Probationer wears ankle bracelet; monitor is in his or her home. Device reports when offender is at home and not at home.
- Probationers pay $5 per day.
- Example: A 20-year-old is placed on intensive supervision probation and sent to Work Ethic Camp in McCook for two misdemeanor thefts, felony forgery and felony possession of drugs. But she doesn’t complete the program and ends up in jail. She is allowed to return home, placed on electronically monitored curfew and required to be involved in substance abuse treatment, take random drug tests and go to the local reporting center, where she can participate in programs from stress management classes to employment searches.
She faces possible probation revocation because of earlier behavior and could end up in prison. But she participates in programs and treatment rather than sit in jail awaiting a decision.
- Equipment was used in a pilot program for 779 people this winter and spring. Community Corrections Council recently approved $500,000 to continue.
- In the pilot project, 81 percent of participants had no violations, meaning they did not drink or remove the ankle bracelet.
- Offender wears ankle bracelet that tests amount of alcohol secreted through the skin about 25 times a day and sends data to a private company that notifies probation officers.
- Probationers paid a sliding scale fee of as much as $12 per day under the pilot program.
- Example: A 33-year-old is placed on probation for two years for a second drunk driving offense. He has a history of alcohol addiction and tested positive for alcohol in random testing four times since probation began.
As a result, he was required to use the monitoring equipment for 30 days. He did not drink during the monitoring and has not tested positive in random tests for more than 60 days since. He has attended self-help groups and AA meetings weekly.
- State probation officials are considering adding GPS monitoring equipment, but the Parole Administration is the only agency using it.
- The parole agency monitors about 70 sex offenders. Some are on parole after serving sentences for serious sexual assault charges. Some are under lifetime supervision requirements.
- The person wears an ankle bracelet and carries a box (like a big cell phone) on a belt or in a purse. Parole officers can track offenders’ movements by computer.
- Offenders pay about $8 a day.
- Example: A 35-year-old man is placed on a six-month parole period and registers as a sex offender after serving time for first-degree sexual assault.
He works full-time. In addition to the GPS monitoring, he meets twice a month with his parole officer.
Like test a person’s blood-alcohol level 25 times a day to make sure he or she isn’t drinking.
Or determine when a person is out of the house.
Or track his or her movements all over town via GPS technology.
It can even be used to warn domestic violence victims if their abusers are near their homes.
Electronic monitoring is one element of a broad, research-based program of supervising offenders on state probation, said Deb Minardi, deputy probation administrator.
Probation is local supervision of people who are convicted of breaking the law but not sent to jail or prison.
Using electronic equipment for probation is not about punishment, Minardi said, and it’s not the same as house arrest.
The equipment is used to help offenders change behavior, and to protect the public, said Minardi.
The probation agency tries to incorporate monitoring equipment wisely as part of a broader program that might include counseling, classes and maintaining a job.
Many people who are at low risk of reoffending no longer see a probation officer every month.
Instead, they report by phone to a computer that asks such simple questions as, “Have you changed jobs?” and reminds them if they haven’t paid a fine.
The system allows one probation officer to handle as many as 800 low-risk cases, Minardi said.
Research shows the low-risk offenders are likely to do what they are told, she said.
In fact, Lancaster County probation sent letters telling 865 low-risk offenders what time and day to report to the office. All but 13 made the appointment after the single letter or that and one follow-up letter, said Gene Cotter with the probation office in Lancaster County.
State probation is trying to use technology strategically, Minardi said, linking the right equipment with the right offender, using more intrusive devices for higher risk offenders.
Overall, monitoring equipment is used with a small number of the more than 17,700 probationers across the state.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.
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