What Is a Probation Bracelet?

Judges often order people under house arrest to wear a probation bracelet. These bracelets transmit the person's location at all times to the police.

Function

Probation bracelets, usually worn on the ankle, send out timed radio frequency or GPS signals that alert law enforcement officials when a person under house arrest moves outside of their mandated boundary.

Significance

According to the Journal of Offender Monitoring, an estimated 130,000 probation bracelets were activated daily in the United States in 2007.

Effects

According to a study at Kutztown University, probation bracelets are not effective in deterring future crime for moderate to high-risk offenders.

Considerations

The companies that manufacture probation bracelets design them to be tamper-resistant, but people can cut them off. Police receive a signal if they are.

New Development

Some counties have started to issue a new probation bracelet for DUI offenders that reads the amount of alcohol in a person's sweat to alert police that they are drinking.

Warning

Companies that monitor probation bracelets are required to notify authorities if a person cuts off his bracelet, but this doesn't always happen. According to November, 2009 story published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a Dekalb County murder suspect had cut off her ankle bracelet and the monitoring company didn't notify authorities until the following day.

References

• Alcohol Monitoring
• Total DUI
• Journal of Experimental Criminology

Resources

• Monitoring company says it's not to blame for escaped murder suspect