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Electronic Monitoring

NCJ Number
119941
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 51 Issue: 6 Dated: (October 1989) Pages: 74,78,80
Author(s)
R Corbett Jr
Date Published
1989
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses some of the negative consequences of the electronic monitoring movement and their impact on the corrections profession.
Abstract
Electronic monitoring of prisoners can mechanize the corrections profession, replacing face-to-face interactions with remote and impersonal monitoring. The mechanization of the corrections profession could undermine the status of probation as a profession and negate rehabilitation as a goal. While electronic monitoring is cheaper than incarceration, it is not necessarily safer or more effective. When prisoners are monitored electronically in their homes, the State is permitted to intrude on the sanctity of the home and prisoners' personal privacy. Policymakers should examine the potential negative consequences of electronic monitoring and should not embrace trendy solutions that run contrary to good prison management, civil liberties, and personal privacy. 6 references.