Ankle Monitors Are Replacing Cash Bail, But At A Cost

This article describes how the costs of electronic monitoring and the lack of agreements between law enforcement agencies and electronic monitoring companies place a devastating burden on people under supervision. The author references personal experiences to highlight the reality that those who cannot afford the costs of electronic monitoring face the same risk of being jailed as those who cannot afford bail.  

You can read the full text of the article here. 

Key findings

• The number of people being supervised via electronic monitoring increased by 140% between 2005 and 2015 ‒ 53,000 to over 125,000. 
• Every U.S. state besides Hawaii offsets at least a portion of electronic monitoring costs onto people under supervision which can range from $5 to $35 per day. Increasingly, more people are being forced to cover the entire cost. 
• In some cases, companies that provide electronic monitoring services do not have a contract with the law enforcement agency. The vendors contract directly with the person under supervision, allowing them complete autonomy over their costs and eliminating any oversight from the courts.