Most California criminal courts seek ways to relieve overcrowding in jails while maintaining control of criminal behavior. Criminal courts offer a wide range of alternative sentencing options for some people – rather than incarceration – while they attempt to ensure public safety.
Courts are increasingly willing to consider House Arrest- Electronic Monitoring as an alternative sentencing method. Contrary to what some believe, electronic monitoring and House Arrest provide benefits to the community and the family of the person incarcerated. These benefits far outweigh a jail consequence. When properly administered, House Arrest electronic monitoring provides the following benefits:
On average, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, it costs $114 per day to incarcerate an inmate. The average cost of Judicial-Link House Arrest Program is only $16 per day. Put another way, Judicial-Link GPS costs 14 percent of the cost of traditional incarceration. Additionally, the defendant pays the fees for electronic monitoring home detention as a form of alternative sentencing. The taxpayer doesn’t cover the cost of electronic monitoring.
Consequences Tailored to the Individual
With traditional incarceration methods, the government houses individuals, and budget dictates whether a jail can offer programs. However, the government cannot offer all the programming an individual may need. With Judicial Link – House Arrest, the individual works with their probation agent to identify resources. These resources may include individual counseling, GED classes, treatment, or job readiness training. The individual can participate in tailor-made programming while connected to Judicial-Link obtains immediate and ongoing feedback by using an ankle monitor. This way, the probation agent knows the individual is on track with their rehabilitation. If they skip a treatment session or fail to appear for job training, probation can find out immediately.
Assignable and Customizable Participant Inclusion and Exclusion Zones Inclusion zones can incorporate multiple INCLUSION ZONES which can be established to ensure that the offender is at a particular location for certain time periods (e.g. home, work, school). In addition, EXCLUSION ZONES can be defined for areas you want the offender to avoid (e.g. sex offenders, gang activity, domestic violence). can be established to ensure that the offender is at a particular location for certain time periods (e.g. home, work, school).
While on home detention using electronic monitoring with an ankle monitor, individuals can continue to contribute to society. In addition to availing themselves of services as discussed above, the individual continues to contribute to their family unit. Whether getting the kids on the school bus, caring for an ailing parent, or working to support the family, the individual on home detention continues to contribute to society. The absence of an incarcerated parent results in many hidden costs for society. Judicial-Link GPS stops that cycle.
While most people succeed in home detention with electronic monitoring, not everyone does. Typical reasons people fail on electronic monitoring include:
When any of this conduct occurs while a person is on probation, it could be weeks or even months before probation deals with the issue. Judicial-Link, using the GPS BLUtag Ankle monitor, Sobertrack breath alcohol-sensing monitor, and VeriTracks 24/365 Web-Based Electronic Monitoring Platform, can provide immediate feedback.
