NCJ Number
211108
Date Published
April 2005
Length
7 pages
Annotation
After explaining the technology and use of electronic surveillance of offenders in the community, this study reports on Florida's use of such surveillance and offers recommendations for improving its effectiveness.
Abstract
The first generation technology for electronic surveillance relied on radio frequency transmissions and has been used in Florida since 1988. The more advanced technology of active global positioning satellite (GPS) has been used since 1997. In contrast to active GPS, which reports on an offender's movements in "real time," the passive GPS maintains a log of the offender's location throughout the day and uses landline telephones to transmit a summary of the data to correctional officers the following day. Electronic monitoring has proven to provide effective surveillance of offenders on community supervision; however, since Florida has only enough resources to monitor 0.6 percent of the offenders under supervision in the community, this technology must be used in a cost-effective manner. Currently, 70 percent of Florida's offenders on electronic monitoring are on community-control supervision, a prison diversion program that serves offenders with mostly property or drug offenses. Only 30 percent of the electronic monitoring units are used to supervise more dangerous habitual and sex offenders. This report recommends that electronic monitoring resources be shifted from less dangerous to more dangerous offenders. Specifically, the legislature should consider modifying State law to provide that electronic monitoring be a standard condition of supervision to be used at the discretion of the Department of Correction. Also, the Department of Corrections should use its offender risk assessment instrument to prioritize the use of electronic monitoring for more dangerous offenders. 5 exhibits