NCJ Number
125226
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 38 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 60-63
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper evaluates the electronic home monitoring program as a cost effective alternative to overcrowded jails in local sheriff's agencies.
Abstract
The system can be used to monitor offenders in work release programs, those nearing the end of their sentences, those awaiting court sentencing disposition, adjudicated juveniles, and pregnant and medially eligible inmates. Sheriff's offices in Palm Beach County (FL), Dane County (WI), Volusia County (FL), Santa Clara (CA), and the Michigan and New Mexico's Departments of Corrections are cited as successful examples of the program. The components of a typical electronic monitoring system are described with particular focus on the popular Mitsubishi Electronic Monitoring System (MEMS) model. In addition to economic benefits, the program improves the self-esteem of the offender by allowing him to support himself and his family and to participate in substance abuse treatments, if necessary; it further decreases the chance of the offender repeating criminal offenses and permits contribution to society while still under surveillance. Detractors of the program feel prisoners should be incarcerated for their wrongdoing and that staying at homes allows prisoners to engage in criminal activities they would be unable to conduct if they were incarcerated.