tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/electronic-monitoring-16325/articlesElectronic monitoring – The Conversation2021-07-15T03:52:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1643202021-07-15T03:52:36Z2021-07-15T03:52:36ZVictoria considers electronic surveillance for alleged stalkers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410988/original/file-20210713-21-r09vvl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1993, Andrea Patrick was murdered by her ex-partner after a period of severe harassment and despite a restraining order being made against him. The public outcry that followed Patrick’s death impelled the New South Wales government to follow Queensland’s lead and <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-89176">enact an offence of stalking</a>. </p>
<p>During the 1990s, all Australian states and territories made stalking a distinct crime. Evidence of stalking can also form the basis of civil law orders known as restraining, apprehended violence or intervention orders.</p>
<p>However, there are concerns that little has changed since Andrea Patrick’s death. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-09/celeste-manno-mother-calls-for-tougher-stalking-laws/12964622">There is a view</a> that stalking is not being treated seriously enough and intervention orders may be breached without serious ramifications for alleged offenders. </p>
<p>The Victorian attorney-general has asked the <a href="https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/projects/stalking/stalking-terms-reference">Victorian Law Reform Commission</a> to consider new measures for responding to stalking, including whether electronic monitoring could be a condition of intervention orders. </p>
<p>Before considering the advantages and disadvantages of such a measure, it is worth considering how stalking is defined.</p>
<h2>What is stalking?</h2>
<p>While definitions differ, in general, stalking refers to a pattern of behaviour intended to cause harm or arouse fear. Stalking can include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/ajp.156.8.1244">surveillance</a>: obsessive monitoring through physically following or tracking the other person via technology or by loitering at the person’s home or workplace </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bsl.966">repetition</a>: there may be unwanted contact that occurs multiple times – it can happen over the course of one day, a few weeks, or many years</p></li>
<li><p>degradation: this may involve verbal abuse, posting denigrating comments or images online, or humiliating the other person in public</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-5690-2_535">intrusion</a>: this may include repeatedly approaching the other person, interfering with the person’s property, or entering the person’s home or workplace. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Stalking can involve actions that would, in another context, be legal or even welcome. For example, gift-giving is usually legal. But if someone repeatedly gives another person unwanted gifts and will not stop when asked, this may amount to stalking. </p>
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<h2>Intervention orders</h2>
<p>Individuals can apply to a court for an intervention order that prohibits another person (the defendant) from behaving in a particular manner towards them. In addition to acting as a restraint on the defendant’s behaviour, an intervention order can direct the defendant to comply with certain conditions. </p>
<p>In Victoria, for example, there are two types of intervention orders: <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/fvpa2008283/">family violence intervention orders</a> and <a href="http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/vic/consol_act/psioa2010409/">personal safety intervention orders</a>. The first type covers situations between family members, including current or former intimate partners and some carers. The second type covers all other relationships.</p>
<p>Lower courts may grant intervention orders if there is sufficient evidence of stalking.</p>
<h2>Electronic monitoring</h2>
<p>Electronic monitoring generally refers to “<a href="http://www.antoniocasella.eu/nume/COE_electronic_16oct12.pdf">forms of surveillance with which to monitor the location, movement and specific behaviour of persons</a>”. It includes the use of devices such as ankle bracelets, which use radio frequency or Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to monitor the location of the person.</p>
<p>While the use of such devices is usually associated with monitoring offenders after conviction, pretrial electronic monitoring is used in some places as <a href="http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/wa/consol_act/ba198241/s50l.html">a condition of bail</a>. Electronic monitoring is also permitted in South Australia and Queensland for some <a href="https://www.ranzcp.org/news-policy/policy-and-advocacy/position-statements/electronic-monitoring-people-in-forensic-mh">individuals using forensic mental health services</a>.</p>
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<span class="caption">Electronic monitoring devices such as ankle bracelets have been used pre-trial in some cases.</span>
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<p>It appears electronic monitoring has not been used in Australia as a condition of intervention orders. However, Matt Black and Russell G. Smith <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi254">pointed out</a> in 2003 that “modern restriction and surveillance capabilities may raise the possibility for consideration”.</p>
<h2>Pros and cons of electronic monitoring</h2>
<p>Electronic monitoring may help to ensure intervention orders work to prevent alleged stalkers physically approaching particular people. It can ensure they don’t enter proscribed areas and be used to track their movements.</p>
<p>However, it can be expensive. The panel that reviewed post-sentence supervision of sex offenders in Victoria <a href="https://files.justice.vic.gov.au/2021-06/cavsom%20harper%20report.pdf?A_rtu8pRp1SsqKDZxF2dWoGkzLvLLcmg=">observed</a>:</p>
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<p>[…] the costs associated with electronic monitoring were considerable, particularly in proportion to other important functions undertaken by Corrections Victoria. </p>
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<p>Due to resource allocation, it is not feasible for every alleged stalker to be monitored 24 hours a day. Analysis of the electronic monitoring data is also not necessarily immediate. If electronic monitoring were an option in relation to intervention orders, it may also lead to more contested cases, thereby taking up more court time.</p>
<p>There are human rights issues in relation to curtailing the liberty of those who have not been convicted of a crime. Wearing an electronic device may also be sitgmatising. The balance here is whether public safety considerations outweigh individual rights.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hunting-the-hunter-how-to-effectively-combat-stalking-22700">Hunting the hunter: how to effectively combat stalking</a>
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<h2>A shift in focus</h2>
<p>Being forced to modify behaviour to avoid being stalked appears to be common for victim survivors of stalking. They may experience significant lifestyle changes such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>avoiding places where their stalker might be</li>
<li>changing routines</li>
<li>quitting school or their job</li>
<li>moving house. </li>
</ul>
<p>A key question for the Victorian Law Reform Commission inquiry into stalking will be whether electronic monitoring can help shift the focus away from victims having to alter their own behaviour to forcing alleged offenders to alter theirs.</p>
<p>Electronic monitoring may have a role to play, but it may be that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits.</p>
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<p><em>Submissions to the inquiry close on August 5 2021. <a href="https://lawreform.vic.gov.au/projects/stalking/stalking-consultation-paper">A consultation paper</a> to guide submissions can be found on the VLRC website, and an anonymous online form for people who have experienced stalking can be completed via the following <a href="https://engage.vic.gov.au/stalking-laws">link</a>. The Commission is due to provide an interim report to the Victorian government by December 31 2021 and a final report by June 30 2022.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164320/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emeritus Professor Bernadette McSherry is a Commissioner with the Victorian Law Reform Commission. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Madeleine Ulbrick is a Senior Research and Policy Officer at the Victorian Law Reform Commission</span></em></p>The question for the Victorian Law Reform Commission is whether such a move would curb the behaviour of the alleged offender rather than forcing victims to curb theirs.Bernadette McSherry, Emeritus Professor, The University of MelbourneMadeleine Ulbrick, Senior Research and Policy Officer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1183352019-06-05T07:01:04Z2019-06-05T07:01:04ZElectronic monitoring bracelets are only crime deterrence tools, they can’t ‘fix’ offenders<p>The man arrested after a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-04/darwin-shooting-people-police-arrest-gunman/11179136">deadly gun attack in Darwin</a> Tuesday night is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/04/police-say-they-have-reports-of-up-to-four-people-dead-in-darwin-shooting">reported</a> to have been on parole and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.</p>
<p>This leads to the same reaction we see following any high-profile crime. How could such a thing happen?</p>
<p>People may speculate that the criminal justice agencies involved have somehow dropped the ball. The offender was on their radar, after all.</p>
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<p>While this finger-pointing may serve a cathartic function, it is important we also question our expectations before assuming a failure occurred.</p>
<p>We need to understand what electronic monitoring intends to achieve, how it works, and what are its capabilities and limitations. </p>
<h2>Electronic tagging</h2>
<p>In the context of the corrections system, electronic monitoring refers to the tagging of a person as a form of surveillance, usually in the form of a GPS-enabled ankle bracelet.</p>
<p><a href="https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi254">In Australia</a>, each state and territory uses electronic monitoring differently, guided by their own legislative frameworks.</p>
<p>Practices vary considerably between jurisdictions. For example, in some places, certain offenders are targeted (high-risk recidivists, those who repeatedly reoffend, for example). In others, specific types of offences are the focus (such as child sex offences).</p>
<p>The application of electronic monitoring even differs between offenders, as the supervising agency uses it for reasons specific to each person.</p>
<p>A police department might use electronic monitoring to ensure a domestic violence perpetrator does not visit the victim before a trial. A probation officer might require an offender to wear a bracelet for 12 months to ensure they are attending treatment and meeting their curfew. A parole officer could place the GPS tracking condition on an offender for the first three months following release from prison to better understand how the parolee spends his or her time.</p>
<p>Each of these experiences will be quite different, as each is intended to fulfil a unique aim. </p>
<p>Ordinarily, electronic monitoring is used as a tool of incapacitation and deterrence.</p>
<p>In the first instance, an offender may be told to follow a particular rule – for example, to be home by 8pm, to stay away from the victim, to attend a treatment program, or not to go within 1km of a school. Electronic monitoring allows authorities to monitor the person’s compliance with such a condition.</p>
<p>In the latter instance, an offender may be deterred from certain behaviour if they believe their actions are likely to be detected through electronic monitoring. </p>
<h2>Monitoring actions</h2>
<p>When an offender is subject to electronic monitoring, a computer database is updated with information about the rules he or she has been instructed to follow. Each jurisdiction and each agency may have their own database, so where the offender appears in the database will depend on who is supervising the electronic monitoring order. </p>
<p>The database is then monitored by enforcement authorities, although this is sometimes outsourced to private providers or overseas companies. While the data is generally sent from the offender’s GPS device to the monitoring agency in real time, there can be delays in how long it takes for that information to be passed to police or corrective services. </p>
<p>What occurs when an offender breaches one of the rules and a computer alert is generated depends on factors such as legislation and the priority of a case influencing the response. The database includes information about what to do in the event of specific kinds of breaches with specific offenders. </p>
<p>In some cases, an alarm on the device may go off or, very rarely, the police may be immediately notified.</p>
<p>Most often, for routine cases and ordinary breaches, the monitoring agency will notify the offender’s supervisor (such as a parole officer or a local police department), who will then determine how to proceed. </p>
<p>There may be a lag of several days during this process. For example, if a low-risk offender misses their home curfew on Friday night (as determined by the GPS bracelet), the parole officer will not receive notification of this breach until Monday morning. </p>
<h2>The pros and cons of tagging</h2>
<p>There are a range of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2066220317697658" title="Electronic monitoring: The experience in Australia">benefits and disadvantages</a> to the electronic monitoring of offenders.</p>
<p>It can be effective in holding offenders accountable, protecting victims and enhancing community safety and preventing crimes. These come with important cost savings, particularly when offenders can be safety monitored in the community in lieu of imprisonment or as a mechanism of early release from prison.</p>
<p>But some of the downfalls are that offenders can tamper with their devices, and there can be GPS dead zones – particularly in a geographically vast country such as Australia. There may also be human error in using the systems, such as improper monitoring or unreasonable decision-making after an alert. </p>
<p>Yet collectively, the research evidence highlights that electronic monitoring can be an effective tool for discouraging recidivism. But it is only that: a tool.</p>
<p>The most effective practices for <a href="https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/environmental-corrections/book248663" title="Environmental Corrections: A New Paradigm for Supervising Offenders in the Community">supervising offenders in the community</a> include those that identify and reduce a person’s risks for continued criminal behaviour.</p>
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<p>Electronic monitoring will be most effective when it is used to support supervision that limits a person’s access to chances to commit crime. Such supervision should help them redesign their routines so that any risky settings are avoided and are replaced with more positive influences.</p>
<p>Thus, rather than simply giving offenders a long list of rules for what <em>not</em> to do, effective probation and parole strategies help offenders lead productive lives. </p>
<p>More broadly, it is imperative that correctional authorities provide rehabilitative interventions that address the underlying factors that contribute toward a person’s criminal behaviour. The <a href="https://nicic.gov/implementing-evidence-based-practice-community-corrections-principles-effective-intervention">most effective approaches</a> use cognitive-behavioural techniques to give offenders skills that encourage good decision-making. </p>
<p>Yet electronic monitoring cannot “fix” an offender’s impulsivity, lack of empathy, or any other underlying crime-conducive traits. Thus we should not confuse a technological aid with meaningful treatment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118335/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lacey Schaefer receives funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology as part of its Criminology Research Grants program. </span></em></p>Electronic monitoring can help deter people from committing further crimes, but it needs to be used along with other crime prevention methods.Lacey Schaefer, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/978642018-06-14T02:55:05Z2018-06-14T02:55:05ZWhy electronic surveillance monitoring may not reduce youth crime<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222946/original/file-20180613-153660-1p5c3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria is introducing legislation to require young criminal offenders to wear electronic tracking devices.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, the Victorian government <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-06/victoria-to-get-tough-new-laws-to-track-youth-offenders/9839474">announced</a> a new surveillance monitoring scheme directed at young criminal offenders aged 16 and older. </p>
<p>Under the legislation to be introduced later this year, the Youth Parole Board will be given the power to decide if offenders should be required to wear an electronic monitoring device and undergo regular drug and alcohol testing after serving their sentences.</p>
<p>While elements of this proposal would be new for Australia, various jurisdictions have used electronic monitoring over the years. Matt Black and Russell Smith reviewed the use of electronic monitoring schemes across the country in <a href="https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi254">2003</a>. Western Australia introduced tracking devices for young people in <a href="https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_1101_homepage.html">2004</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gps-monitoring-may-intrude-on-prisoners-privacy-10709">GPS monitoring may intrude on prisoners' privacy</a>
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<p>Across Australia, intensive surveillance systems are increasingly being seen as a way to manage risk. <a href="https://www.iothub.com.au/news/nsw-government-plans-to-monitor-young-drivers-489303">New South Wales</a> is currently testing in-vehicle telematics surveillance apps for all young drivers (18- to 25-year-olds), who are deemed at higher risk of accidents or committing driving offences. </p>
<p>Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos claims the Victorian monitoring measure is needed to ensure high-risk young offenders comply with their parole conditions. The scheme could be expanded if it proves successful.</p>
<h2>Lack of evidence and exorbitant costs</h2>
<p>While there is little Australian research into the efficacy of electronic monitoring of young people (or post-release offenders generally), the Jill Dando Institute in the UK has conducted a recent <a href="http://whatworks.college.police.uk/toolkit/Pages/Intervention.aspx?InterventionID=9">systematic review</a> of research in various countries around the world.</p>
<p>Some aspects of the Victorian proposal align with the international evidence on likelihood of success. The review shows electronic monitoring can increase the likelihood of repeat offenders being caught, serve as a constant reminder to offenders of their parole status and conditions, and reduce peer pressure by limiting access to the people and places that might contribute to repeat offending.</p>
<p>In addition, the review found that several behavioural changes brought by electronic monitoring might contribute to a reduction in crime. These include offenders being able to remain at home with family support (rather than being incarcerated), participate in treatment programs, abstain from drug and alcohol use, and even secure a job and regular source of income.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-police-in-schools-wont-reduce-youth-crime-in-victoria-91563">Why police in schools won't reduce youth crime in Victoria</a>
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<p>However, the review found that electronic monitoring works best with just one category of offenders: sex offenders. When extended to broader “high-risk” offenders of all ages, there was no significant positive effect compared to non-monitoring.</p>
<p>The review also highlights the crucial importance of getting the implementation right. At this stage, little is known about how the Victorian electronic monitoring proposal would be implemented. </p>
<p>The right technology is vital. So, too, is the need to ensure strong data management and integration, which is problematic in Victoria. There also needs to be strong communication between a number of relevant agencies (an issue in Victoria), and detailed planning and program administration protocols prior to implementation (unknown at this stage). </p>
<p>The final issue is financial. The Victorian government has indicated an <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/vicious-youths-on-parole-to-be-tracked-using-electronic-monitoring-under-new-victorian-laws/news-story/b17c7912892580cd67931f9824184ea3">investment of A$2.1 million</a> for an estimated 20 to 30 people in the initial trial phase of the program. This means at least $70,000 per person at the outset. </p>
<p>No doubt some of this money will be allocated to set-up costs for the monitoring system and wouldn’t need to be spent again in the future. But it’s still a considerable expense, and raises questions about whether the money could be better spent on other youth offender initiatives, such as drug/alcohol treatment, training and employment programs.</p>
<h2>Election-year politics</h2>
<p>This “get tough” approach to young criminal offenders comes during an election year in Victoria, when “law and order” issues tend to dominate debate. But evidence-based research of what does and does not work is being pushed aside in this case. So, too, are the negative effects that can arise from these policies. </p>
<p>Rather than focus on which party is toughest on crime, a more progressive approach on “law and order” issues is needed. A permanent mechanism for reviewing criminal justice policies and procedures is one idea. I’d suggest an independent Criminal Justice Commission that evaluates policy initiatives in the run-up to each election and conducts five-year reviews of criminal justice policies. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tough-on-crime-victoria-is-not-learning-lessons-from-abroad-19023">Tough on crime: Victoria is not learning lessons from abroad</a>
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<p>Too bureaucratic? Too academic? Australia already has a similar system for evaluating economic policy (the pre-election budget analysis) and five-year defence strategic reviews.</p>
<p>To its credit, Victoria Police tried to implement something like this with its <a href="http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=42063">“Blue Paper”</a>, but that was quietly shelved. In any case, we need a systematic review of the criminal justice system rather than an agency review.</p>
<p>We can only hope that between now and the November state election there will be some effort to develop progressive criminal justice policies directed at holistic crime prevention rather than a focus on more intensive surveillance.</p>
<p>The idea that more surveillance can solve recidivism is misguided. It might be better at catching breaches of parole, but for what purpose? Certainly not for helping a young offender understand the effects of their behaviours, the harms they have caused, and the need to find assistance and a path to a different future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97864/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darren Palmer receives funding from the Criminology Research Council, the National Drug Law Enforcement Fund, the Victorian Drug Law Enforcement Fund, the Australian Drug Foundation, VicHealth and the TAC and the Victorian Law Foundation.. </span></em></p>Politicians like to appear tough on crime in election years. But Victoria’s move to require youth offenders to wear electronic monitoring devices may not have a real impact.Darren Palmer, Associate professor, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/905212018-01-25T23:21:54Z2018-01-25T23:21:54ZElectronically monitoring migrants treats them like criminals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203106/original/file-20180123-33541-1k9t0tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants from Somalia cross into Canada from the United States by walking down a train track towards Emerson, Manitoba in February 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recently <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/12/21/canadian-border-officials-looking-at-gps-tracking-as-alternative-to-jailing-migrants.html">announced</a> its intention to remotely monitor migrants via electronic ankle bracelets as an alternative to detaining them.</p>
<p>This plan is set out in the emerging <a href="https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/detent/nidf-cndi-eng.html">National Immigration Detention Framework</a>. The idea is to “tag” migrants with the ankle bracelets, which then send GPS signals to a central monitoring station. </p>
<p>Since it’s 24/7 surveillance, the “tagged” migrant can be potentially re-arrested at any time. </p>
<p>A pilot tagging program is slated for Toronto as early as April. A tender has been issued for a private partner to implement it.</p>
<p>While superficially appealing, this program is a step backwards as an alternative to the inhumane practice of detaining migrants, sometimes in provincial jails.</p>
<p>Tagging is meant to capture people who abscond — or purposely evade immigration authorities to live clandestinely — and people who may harm themselves or others. </p>
<p>Yet Canada is a “destination state,” and most migrants who have made the long journey here would prefer to live openly and co-operatively with authorities and their communities. </p>
<p>Research demonstrates that the best alternative is <a href="https://idcoalition.org/news/building-trust-avoiding-detention-unpacking-case-management-as-an-alternative/">quality support and services to migrants based on their individual needs</a> so that their cases can be resolved in the community, without the use of immigration detention or coercive monitoring practices. </p>
<p>Such “case management” techniques even lead to increased rates of voluntary deportation, a costly problem for Canada where most deportees are <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/deportation-cbsa-refugee-assistance-1.4493727">“forced to leave with escorts or (have their) transportation costs paid by the government.”</a></p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203234/original/file-20180124-107963-1tpwwv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An immigrant from El Salvador who entered the U.S. illegally wears an ankle monitor at a shelter in San Antonio, Texas, in 2015. The practice of forcing migrants to wear the bracelets caused controversy in Texas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eric Gay)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What tagging does do, however, is criminalize, stigmatize and alienate migrants from the community that is meant to be supervising them.</p>
<p>The true alternative to immigration detention is release. Living in the community can be coupled with free access to high-quality legal counsel and social welfare services for a financial cost that is much lower than imprisonment. </p>
<p>By putting forward tagging as an alternative to detention, the CBSA risks compromising its commitment to a new, more humane approach to immigration control in Canada. </p>
<h2>Detaining migrants</h2>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2115213">Immigration detention</a> is the incarceration of non-citizens in order to deal with irregularities in their immigration or refugee claims, or to ready them for deportation. </p>
<p>Immigration detainees are not being held for criminal infractions. Rather, these are civil, administrative legal grounds. The Canadian government <a href="https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/detent-stat-eng.htm">detained</a> approximately 6,251 people in 2016-2017, with 439 people being held for more than 90 days. </p>
<p>The detention facilities are in Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver, but the CBSA also transfers people to provincial correctional centres. People who have exhausted their claims to remain in Canada and have been issued deportation orders comprise approximately 80 per cent of the detained population in Canada, with refugee claimants and others making up the remainder.</p>
<p>Immigration detention is a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-immigration-detention-1.4115511">last resort</a> because <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2732892">it harms detainees and their wider networks of friends and family members</a>. </p>
<p>For years following periods of detention, people report depression, demoralization, concentration and memory disturbances, and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953610002339">persistent anxiety</a>, all of which are doubly disturbing in light of the high <a href="http://www.fmreview.org/detention/phelps.html#_edn5">rates of release back into the community</a>. </p>
<p>In other words, many detainees are never deported, a primary goal of detention. Instead, they are forced to cope with the trauma of incarceration while simultaneously navigating the challenges of settlement and integration into Canadian society.</p>
<h2>The National Immigration Detention Framework</h2>
<p>Following a string of <a href="https://theconversation.com/migrants-are-dying-in-detention-centres-when-will-canada-act-87237">deaths</a>, increased media coverage, a change in federal government and Canada becoming a partner in <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/protection/detention/57b579e47/unhcr-global-strategy-beyond-detention-progress-report.html">the UNHCR Global Detention Strategy</a>, the CBSA committed to reforming its detention system. </p>
<p>The Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is devoting $138 million over five years to developing the National Immigration Detention Framework (NIDF). </p>
<p>The NIDF will address four key issues, including alternatives to detention, in order to create “a better, fairer system that supports the humane and dignified treatment of individuals while protecting public safety.” The other issues pertain to partnerships, mental health and transparency. </p>
<p>The CBSA held stakeholder meetings and issued a call for public consultation, <a href="http://carfms.org/blog/reforming-immigration-detention-now-responding-to-the-canadian-border-services-agency-cbsa-calls-for-public-consultations-by-petra-molnar-and-stephanie-j-silverman/">to which I contributed</a>. Subsequently, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale issued a national directive aimed at preventing the detention of children.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203237/original/file-20180124-107943-3guwcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An RCMP officer escorts a woman and a child from Yemen as they cross the U.S.-Canada border in Hemmingford, Que., in March 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Goodale also announced <a href="https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/detent/nddhm-dndhm-eng.html?wbdisable=true#s10">negotiations</a> with the Salvation Army and the John Howard Society to provide “supervision and case management services” to former detainees, and to begin electronic monitoring in lieu of imprisonment.</p>
<h2>Criminalizing migrants and refugees</h2>
<p>These announcements may provoke cautious optimism, but at least three aspects of the tagging proposal should give us pause.</p>
<p>First, these ideas reflect the encroachment of criminal justice norms into the immigration and asylum sector. They are part of the global trend of criminalizing border-crossers. Migrant and refugee rights organizations such as the <a href="http://ccrweb.ca/en/alternatives-detention-framework-principles">Canadian Council for Refugees</a> and the <a href="https://idcoalition.org/cap/">International Detention Coalition</a> are adamant that alternatives to detention must never criminalize people.</p>
<p>Yet both the <a href="https://www.salvationarmy.ca/about-us/history/">Salvation Army</a> and the <a href="http://johnhoward.ca/about-us/history/">John Howard Society,</a> as well as the very concept of tagging, hail from preventive and criminal justice settings.</p>
<p>Tag-wearers commonly view tagging as a punishment or “<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ps//spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/lets-stop-using-ankle-bracelets-to-monitor-offenders">living under a suspended sentence</a> in itself.” This flies in the face of the justification for detention, which is only legal when it’s administrative, not punitive.</p>
<p>Canada’s earlier experiment with tagging detainees proved disastrous. In the mid-2000s, Canada tagged some men who had been arrested as terrorist suspects under the <a href="http://www.thecourt.ca/the-supreme-court-upholds-security-certificate-regime-in-harkat/">Security Certificate</a> regime. Documentary filmmaker Amar Wala shows in <a href="http://archive.secrettrial5.com/issue">The Secret Trial 5</a> how the former detainees and their families were so traumatized by the monitoring that some of the men actually requested a transfer back to prison. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/research/r-383-eng.shtml">As Correctional Service Canada reminds us</a>, mobile surveillance was never intended to reduce the prison population. So why would we think that it could reduce the immigration detention population, an implicit goal of the NIDF? </p>
<p>There are also too few details about how to measure the success of the pilot. What rate of absconding will be too high? What level of discomfort will be too much? </p>
<p>Toronto is already home to the <a href="http://ccrweb.ca/en/alternatives-detention-comments-toronto-bail-program">Toronto Bail Program</a>, Canada’s only full-fledged alternative to detention. This program is itself an offshoot of the criminal bail system. It has been praised by some, but concerns <a href="http://ccrweb.ca/en/alternatives-detention-comments-toronto-bail-program">have also been raised</a> relating to its discretionary practices and <a href="http://ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/We_Have_No_Rights">outsized influence</a>. </p>
<p>There is also the issue of subcontracting aspects of the tagging pilot to a private, for-profit firm.</p>
<p>Finally, and perhaps more significantly, it’s a grave mistake to position tagging as the best-case alternative to detention. </p>
<h2>Refugee shelters are a good alternative</h2>
<p>Many <a href="https://christiestreetrc.com/">refugee</a> <a href="http://www.matthewhouse.ca/matthewhouse/index.php">shelters</a> in Toronto are willing to act as an alternative to immigration detention. These shelters accommodate vulnerable newcomers and employ highly trained staff who can guide migrants through their court procedures. </p>
<p>Why not build on this <a href="http://www.fmreview.org/detention/costello-kaytaz.html">experienced network of care and responsibility </a>? Why reinvent the misshapen wheel by creating a tagging apparatus? A more welcoming alternative would result in better outcomes for settlement and, yes, voluntary deportation for those people who have exhausted their appeals to stay in Canada. </p>
<p>What’s more, for decades, Canada has released detainees with little or no fanfare. Research demonstrates <a href="https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/79009">“changes in immigration are either not significantly associated or negatively associated with changes in crime rates”</a> in Canada.</p>
<p>By prioritizing alternatives to detention over release, we are being lead to believe that the problem lies with the migrants. </p>
<p>The problem is actually detention in and of itself. We must not let release slip out of view. It’s therefore vital that the NIDF officials not lose sight of release and other less coercive, damaging and stigmatizing possibilities than tagging, and reject electronic surveillance of migrants and refugees as soon as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie J Silverman receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada</span></em></p>Electronically monitoring migrants and refugees may seem like a humane alternative to detention, but it’s rife with problems and still criminalizes would-be immigrants.Stephanie J Silverman, Adjunct professor, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666602016-10-07T14:32:35Z2016-10-07T14:32:35ZTagging more offenders can’t just be quick fix for prison numbers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140860/original/image-20161007-8956-1si9wcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">24-hour surveillance people. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankle_monitor#/media/File:Bracelet_électronique.JPG">Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Electronic tagging of offenders is going to be considerably expanded in Scotland under new plans <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-37544706">announced</a> by the Scottish government, part of a wider trend towards <a href="http://28uzqb445tcn4c24864ahmel.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2016/06/EMEU-Creativity-and-effectiveness-in-EM-Long-version.pdf">more tagging</a> across much of Europe. Where this kind of monitoring is only currently used in Scotland to track convicted offenders for periods of time at home, <a href="http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Expanding-tagging-sentences-2c5a.aspx">in future</a> it will be used for suspects awaiting trial who would otherwise be remanded in custody. </p>
<p>GPS monitoring will be introduced to make it possible to monitor offenders without restricting them to the home for the first time and there are also proposals to trial tags that monitor alcohol levels in the sweat of offenders whose crimes are deemed to be linked to problems with alcohol. </p>
<p>First rolled out in Scotland in 2002, electronic tagging has been slowly expanding ever since. It <a href="http://28uzqb445tcn4c24864ahmel.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2016/06/EMEU-Creativity-effectiveness-EM-Brief_English.pdf">currently</a> accounts for some 11% of all people detained by the criminal justice system. Extending its use <a href="http://28uzqb445tcn4c24864ahmel.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2016/06/EMEU-Creativity-effectiveness-EM-Brief_English.pdf">mirrors</a> trends seen elsewhere in Europe. Many countries already use GPS monitoring, for example. England and Wales are particularly heavy users of tags, while the likes of the Netherlands and Germany use the technology to a lesser extent.</p>
<p>Extending electronic monitoring is attractive to the Scottish government for several reasons. It makes it easier to tailor punishments to the individual and allow them to maintain contact with their families and keep their employment. This is part of a <a href="http://scottishjusticematters.com/wp-content/uploads/SJM_1-2_December2013_ReframingCustodyLo-Res.pdf">wider policy agenda</a> to reduce reoffending with what are <a href="http://www.healthscotland.com/uploads/documents/17101-assetBasedApproachestoHealthImprovementBriefing.pdf">known as</a> “asset-based approaches”, which essentially aim to empower individuals. We see them in other areas such as public health and <a href="http://www.abcdinstitute.org/docs/What%20isAssetBasedCommunityDevelopment(1).pdf">community development</a>.</p>
<p>An equally important priority for the government is reducing Scotland’s prison population, including those people on remand. It is <a href="http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_population_rate?field_region_taxonomy_tid=14">currently</a> one of the highest in Western Europe at 142 per 100,000 (only England and Wales is slightly higher at 146 per 100,000 – albeit dwarfed by Russia’s 447 and the US’s 693). </p>
<p>Imprisonment incurs massive financial and social costs – and the Scottish government has <a href="http://www.gov.scot/About/Review/spc/About/Review/penalpolicy">long said</a> this must change. Criminal justice professionals refer to electronic tagging reducing prison numbers at the “front door” for remand prisoners; and at the “back door” for releasing prisoners sooner from prison subject to conditions and restrictions. </p>
<p>This is just one of a range of tools the Scottish government is using to address its high prison population. Others include <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/09/8223">reducing the use of</a> short prison sentences and <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/policies/reducing-reoffending/community-justice">reforming</a> community justice services – both of these on the back of <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13200823.SNP_law_against_short_jail_terms__ignored__in_courtrooms/">previous</a> related <a href="http://scottishjusticematters.com/redesigning-community-justice-scotland/">attempts</a>. </p>
<h2>What could go wrong</h2>
<p>Whether more electronic tagging is merely a short-term fix for the prison population or helps reduce reoffending in the longer term depends on the context in which it is used. Simply placing individuals on a tag and restricting their liberty will not address factors underpinning offending behaviour. </p>
<p>Scotland’s last big extension to tagging <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00434434.pdf">in 2006</a> did not have the desired effect. Widely perceived as a move to reduce prison overcrowding, a failure to incorporate other strategies, particularly around sentencing, meant that the number of prisoners kept rising. </p>
<p>This time it is vital that increasing the role of the companies who monitor tags – currently <a href="http://www.g4s.com">G4S</a> – complements the role of criminal justice social workers and other points of contact for offenders, rather than replacing them. These people are considerably skilled at helping offenders and suspects change their behaviour, but they are already stretched. If there’s going to be an increased pool of individuals on community sentences, these support workers need more resources. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140861/original/image-20161007-8965-1hwha6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tagging contractor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:G4S,Västberga_2009x.jpg#/media/File:G4S,Västberga_2009x.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also needs to be ensured that increased tagging doesn’t lead to a creeping increase in the number of people in the criminal justice system. It must not make a community sentence a more attractive option than no sentence at all, or extend a sentence beyond what would currently be imposed. This is what is known as “up-tariffing” and “net widening”. </p>
<p>As for using what has been dubbed the “sobriety tag”, this is no doubt influenced by insights from Scotland’s <a href="http://www.actiononviolence.org.uk">Violence Reduction Unit</a> into the links between crime and problematic alcohol consumption. But monitoring sobriety will clearly only help people alongside substantial support aimed at addressing this problem. This area needs considered carefully. </p>
<h2>Supervision nation</h2>
<p>Scotland is right to prioritise moving away from its shamefully high levels of imprisonment, but we shouldn’t be certain that expanding electronic monitoring will reduce the prison population on its own. </p>
<p>Directly comparable statistics are unfortunately not available, but <a href="http://28uzqb445tcn4c24864ahmel.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2016/06/EMEU-Creativity-effectiveness-EM-Brief_English.pdf">research cautions</a> us not to be too optimistic: jurisdictions with high rates of imprisonment also have high rates of electronic monitoring. Scotland has entered an era of mass supervision <a href="http://www.offendersupervision.eu/blog-post/from-mass-incarceration-to-mass-supervision">alongside</a> many other European countries. Community sentences have been growing alongside prison sentences rather than replacing them. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140863/original/image-20161007-8956-dyxvab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyes have it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-416365552/stock-photo-eye-of-providence-in-a-triangles-illustration-perfect-visual-illustration-for-any-disc-or-book-cover-commercial-and-advertising-board-can-be-also-suitable-for-art-project-banner-or-web.html?src=88LjH8hW14Fbu4fszwrilg-1-26">STVinMotion</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While we might argue that electronic tagging is at least less draconian than a prison sentence, such punishments fall under the radar of public concern in a way that the effects of imprisonment do not. This might make it more attractive in a political climate that supports cutting prison populations, yet we should also be wary of the increased use of any criminal sanction.</p>
<p>The results of these reforms need to be closely scrutinised in the coming years to make sure they fulfil their potential and are not simply another quick and easy fix to reduce the prison population. Electronic monitoring still restricts people’s liberty and represents an infliction of pain from the state.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66660/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrina Morrison is a part-time learning and development researcher for the Scottish Prison Service, though the views in this piece are entirely in her academic capacity.</span></em></p>Scotland is about to greatly expand its use of tags to have more prisoners serve sentences in their homes and communities.Katrina Morrison, Lecturer in Criminology, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/390442015-06-17T20:21:10Z2015-06-17T20:21:10ZElectronic innovation can help fix an archaic, crowded prison system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79014/original/image-20150423-29722-1fj56l4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Electronic monitoring typically involves fitting offenders with tamper-proof bracelets to monitor whether they are abiding by conditions imposed on them.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisyarzab/6510121061/in/photolist-aVh5bz-4v83YW-4v3Sj4-4v3RJR-cMbU3w-nf2i45-4amGfd-8kpoGi-4HdDs8-aiAn2y-4v3YMT-bHhuYM-bkL9M5-p78PLA-gVPq7P-nWQez9-nEsz8y-9QQFWD-aEVK1S-aBAp5J-6V2B4u-cAxjXC-f5sd5J-8U32Zt-7kqRhR-gSYT95-hwPAnG-dpN58X-gfyrTF-p78PMN-p78PHu-p78PNu-bFa7fT-xB8uL-8v2EYn-aa42qS-dPW92n-drcKX2">Flickr/Chris Yarzab</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/beyond-prison">Beyond Prison</a> series, which examines better ways to reduce re-offending, following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-imprisonment">State of Imprisonment</a> series.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Victoria’s prisons are reported to be <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-15/victorian-prisons-the-most-violent-in-australia/6319186">the most violent in the country</a>, as an overcrowded system struggles to house a growing prison population. Prison officers are reportedly assaulted every three days and inmate fights occur daily. Prison guards are to trial capsicum spray in response.</p>
<p>This should not come as a surprise. The Victorian Auditor-General <a href="http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20121128-Prisons/20121128-Prisons.pdf">found in 2012</a> that the system was near capacity. Last year, the Ombudsman <a href="https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/getattachment/2998b6e6-491a-4dfe-b081-9d86fe4d4921">warned</a> that violence was a natural consequence of overcrowding.</p>
<p>Imprisonment rates across Australia have risen dramatically in recent times. In the <a href="https://theconversation.com/state-of-imprisonment-victoria-is-leading-the-nation-backwards-38905">traditionally low-imprisonment state</a> of Victoria, the prison population grew by <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/publications/victorias-prison-population-2002-2012">38% in the ten years from 2002 to 2012</a>. The growth accelerated between 2009 and 2014, with the number of prisoners increasing by <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victorian-prison-numbers-surged-under-napthine-20141211-1258jw.html">40% in five years</a>.</p>
<p>“Law and order” political agendas have reduced judicial sentencing discretion, <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/news-media/news/phasing-out-suspended-sentences-complete-today">phased out</a> suspended sentences and restricted the availability of bail and parole. We built more prisons, but even then <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/prisoners-moved-into-shipping-containers-20140106-30d23.html">shipping containers</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-16/violence-and-escapes-in-victorian-prisons-linked-to-overcrowding/6322620">fold-out beds</a> were needed to warehouse the overflow.</p>
<p>Penal populism has trumped evidence-based policy. The previous Coalition government seemingly disregarded its own Sentencing Advisory Council’s conclusions about the <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/publications/does-imprisonment-deter">ineffectiveness</a> of prison in reducing crime.</p>
<p>Local statistics also run counter to encouraging international trends. These suggest that the world’s 200-year honeymoon with the prison may be ending.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/a-rare-opportunity-on-criminal-justice.html?_&_r=1">In the US</a>, the global financial crisis brought into sharp relief the costs of hyper-incarceration, especially of African-Americans. Suddenly, even conservatives questioned why housing felons should divert funds away from schools and roads. The mounting evidence that prison is ineffective in deterring and rehabilitating criminals, and that incarceration itself may increase the risk of re-offending, was finally heeded.</p>
<p>Even in states <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/best-state-in-america-texas-where-both-crime-and-incarceration-rates-are-falling/2014/12/05/e0a0f4a8-7b07-11e4-84d4-7c896b90abdc_story.html">such as Texas</a>, prison numbers fell. In 2011, that state <a href="http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional/texas-first-prison-is-closing-1/nRdBp/">closed a prison</a> for the first time in its history.</p>
<p>The new Victorian Labor government has tentatively signalled the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/investigations/jury-out-on-labor-prison-plan-20150123-12w1rn.html">need for change</a>. Yet it too clearly fears electoral backlash and has conceded that prison populations are likely to continue to rise.</p>
<p>Both sides of politics have invested huge political capital touting the prison as the solution to crime. The Australian public responded too well and the punitive cycle escalated. </p>
<p>How do we now un-sell this expensive, ineffective and cruel form of punishment?</p>
<h2>Punitiveness and the national identity</h2>
<p>The pull of punitivism is a legacy of Australia’s colonial history. As Robert Hughes argued in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fatal_Shore">The Fatal Shore</a>, in the early days of the colony any infraction of the rules was viciously punished, and this knee-jerk punitiveness maintains its hold in contemporary Australian discourse about punishment.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/rciadic/">Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody</a>, for instance, drew connections between Australia’s early dispossession of Indigenous people and their high levels of incarceration. Punitiveness is also evident in offshore processing of asylum seekers in prison-like conditions (perhaps not surprising, given the employment of former prison staff in the centres) <a href="http://unhcr.org.au/unhcr/images/2013-11-26%20Report%20of%20UNHCR%20Visit%20to%20Manus%20Island%20PNG%2023-25%20October%202013.pdf">deemed inhumane</a> by the United Nations.</p>
<p>In Australia, dubious utilitarian ideologies about general deterrence, with imprisonment its ready touchstone, prevail. In pandering to public punitiveness, politicians have forgotten a countervailing strand in Australia’s history and national identity: innovation.</p>
<h2>Australia and penal innovation</h2>
<p>The great English judge, Lord Denning, was once asked about innovative sentencing options. He noted that the last major innovation was probably “transportation”. That, he quipped, had worked out rather well.</p>
<p>In the 18th century, Australia was the great social experiment. The world watched to see if this society of convicts could fashion a new social order.</p>
<p>Acute labour shortages were the impetus for another innovative sentencing option, the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=oSBcAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">Ticket of Leave scheme</a>. This allowed convicts to complete their sentences working and living in the community. The scheme kept the fledgling colonial economy afloat and is reputedly the forerunner of parole and probation schemes internationally.</p>
<p>Australian contributions continue to be influential. John Braithwaite’s ideas about re-integrative shaming – a shift away from punitive social control to approaches that shame the offender but simultaneously offer re-integration into the community — have spawned an entire “alternative” system of restorative justice processes all over the world.</p>
<p>Appeal to Australia’s nationalist pride in its history as an innovator may untie the prison’s shackles. While far from perfect, the emerging technology of electronic monitoring may present a publicly acceptable alternative to prison.</p>
<h2>The rise of electronic monitoring</h2>
<p>Electronic monitoring was <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/05/22/314874232/the-history-of-electronic-monitoring-devices">initially developed</a> as a behavioural-modification tool in experimental and clinical psychology. The technology has been applied to criminal justice since 1983, when a New Mexican judge, inspired by a Spider-Man comic, ordered its use to track probationers.</p>
<p>Nowadays, electronic monitoring takes various forms across the world. These typically involve offenders being fitted with tamper-proof bracelets. The devices monitor whether offenders are abiding by conditions, such as geographical constraints, curfews, attending work or study, or abstaining from drugs or alcohol.</p>
<p>Electronic monitoring can be used pre-trial, as a primary sentence or post-sentence. It operates in <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/conferences/other/smith_russell/2010-07-brcss.pdf">each form in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>To date, however, electronic monitoring has not really been countenanced as a legitimate, large-scale alternative to divert offenders away from prison. Victoria’s brief use of home detention initially aimed to do this, but public criticism that it was “too soft” led to its removal from the statute books in 2012. It remains an optional condition that may be imposed under a <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/num_act/saossaoma201332o2013713/s25.html">community correction order</a>.</p>
<p>Any alternative to prison must be seen to satisfy sentencing’s twin <a href="http://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/about-sentencing/sentencing-process/sentencing-principles-purposes-factors">objectives</a> of punishing offenders and protecting the community. The research on electronic monitoring’s impact on crime is still inconclusive, but the indications are that, in many cases, it likely meets these purposes as well as, or even better than, prison. </p>
<p>In its <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2014/342.html">first guideline judgment</a>, Victoria’s Court of Appeal recently recognised that even in cases of relatively serious offending, properly conditioned sentences served in the community can both appropriately punish offenders and protect the public.</p>
<p>On its face, electronic monitoring also has lower operational costs than prison. However, once rehabilitation services are factored in, savings are more properly couched as reducing the costs of re-offending.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79024/original/image-20150423-10331-1cig2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electronic monitoring technology isn’t foolproof but it is an advance on the ‘one size fits all’ punishment of prison.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.omnilink.com/electronic-monitoring/">From www.omnilink.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Electronic monitoring, like all punishment, is imperfect. Failure is built into any system that tries to control and regulate human behaviour. </p>
<p>The technology is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11491937">prone to failure</a>. There will be inevitable scandals when human cunning and system break downs lead to spectacular breaches. Electronic monitoring also presents significant net-widening and net-strengthening challenges (that is, more people are subjected to intensive forms of criminal justice control).</p>
<p>These negative effects are hard to overcome and any policy and research agenda must address these. But a “one size fits all” approach to punishment, like prison, is unacceptable. </p>
<h2>Is prison’s time nearly up?</h2>
<p>It is time for a more open dialogue about the risks and limitations of all forms of punishment. We need calibrated and nuanced community-based options to meet the specific circumstances of each offender and their crime. A bipartisan preparedness to raise the level of public debate about the full gamut of options should replace the invocation of prison as a “quick fix” for both crime and electoral popularity.</p>
<p>The days of the prison, an 18th-century industrial institution, as the dominant form of punishment are probably numbered. Electronic monitoring is one option more compatible with the 21st-century virtual age, in which containment and isolation need not be physical to be effective.</p>
<p>Jeremy Bentham, the architect of the prison and the great-grandfather of utilitarianism, understood that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… all punishment is mischief: all punishment in itself is evil. Upon the principle of utility, if it ought at all to be admitted, it ought only to be admitted in as far as it promises to exclude some greater evil.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For better or worse, electronic monitoring probably is our best, albeit imperfect, opportunity to reframe a public dialogue about the purposes, risks and relative costs of punishment.</p>
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<p><em>You can read other articles in the Beyond Prison series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/beyond-prison">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The days of prison, an 18th-century industrial institution, as the justice system’s dominant form of punishment may be numbered. Electronic monitoring of offenders is one promising alternative.Kathy Laster, Director, Sir Zelman Cowen Centre, Victoria UniversityRyan Kornhauser, Research Assistant, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.