I have a simple, but elegant solution. All convicted criminals who are out on parole, must wear highly sophisticated electronic collars everywhere they go. they are not permitted to be out and about after certain hours (that would be a condition of parole). In addition these collars have a unique signature and they cannot be removed without detection. To ensure compliance they will be monitored 24x7 and must be visually checked by a police officer and civilian officer monthly. If a crime is committed, it would be relatively easy to see who perpetrated it. Since 95% of crime is committed by basically the same 5% of re-offenders, this would act both as a deterrent and would be a viable way to enforce compliance. Anyone who violates conditions or re-offends, will be back in. This would include drug users , homeless or juvenile delinquents who target the public. and don't tell me that this technology doesn't exist, because it does. it could work on all cell towers using a sliver of bandwidth. I think something like this would cut crime in half or more right off the top, and would reduce the burden on our court systems - the paper work would be relatively easy. It would also be easy to see if parolee's are hanging out with others parolees. If a parolee really does turn their life around, gets a job and manages not to reenter the life of crime or attacking others, then the cuff comes off. they get their privacy back.
Uhhh
I appreciate the thought, but I don't think you've actually worked out the costs and implications.
On any given day in Canada there are ~ 90,000 people under 'Supervision' (probation, parole etc).
The cost of an electronic ankle bracelet, plus monitoring is ~ $600 per month. That's about 658M per year, nominally.
In practice, it would be much more to achieve the level of scrutiny you wish to apply. Current software for the bracelets only tracks location. It does not track proximity to other offenders, specific locations etc etc.
I can't even put a price tag on that level of scrutiny, but its safe to say you're measuring in the Billions per year.
The notion that the change you have in mind would be 'easy' when I'm not sure its even feasible in the near-term if the money flowed, is not correct.
That also completely ignores any Charter issues that may come into play; and doesn't address the curious problem you may not have anticipated.
That should we achieve the ability to do the above, it would result in release of the majority of people in jail today on remand (held pending trial),
as the argument would go that they are no longer a flight risk. That would in turn drive the cost of the program much higher, probably 100% higher.
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I'm not suggesting that there isn't some merit to the idea; in fact, I've advocated for the expansion of bracelets as an alternative to remand, because they are cheaper, and err on the side of people retaining greater
freedom who haven't yet been convicted of an offense.
But that is a very big shift, with lots of complexity and cost.
Sources:
This Juristat article provides a statistical overview of adults and youth admitted to and released from custody and community supervision in Canada in 2018/2019. Analysis is presented at the national as well as the provincial and territorial levels. Average counts and the incarceration rates are...
www150.statcan.gc.ca
Dozens of people eligible for release from Ontario jail are unable to leave because they’re on a waiting list for ankle monitors.
www.thestar.com
