Monitoring bracelet shortage called rare
A recent shortage of electronic monitoring bracelets in Regina was a rare occurrence and not indicative of a larger problem with availability, a ministry spokesman said.
Recently, a number of accused awaiting release had to have their matters set over temporarily, their lawyers telling the court electronic monitoring bracelets — a release condition for these particular individuals — were not immediately available.
The province’s electronic monitoring program is available to some as a condition of bail or community-based sentence, used as a means to help enforce house arrest.
Drew Wilby, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, Corrections and Policing, said while there was a brief period when Regina ran short of units, everything appears to be status quo now.
“We haven’t had a formal shortage (provincially) of electronic monitoring bracelets, so to speak,” he said. “What will happen is a certain circuit point or a court may not have access to them at that time, so they have to bring them from another area of the province. I’m not 100 per cent sure what happened there in Regina last week, but I do know that we do have enough bracelets for the offenders that are there in the system right now.”
Wilby noted the province has a total of 190 units, with 12 of those designated for youths in Regina as part of a pilot project (monitors are not currently available to youths in other Saskatchewan locations, pending the results of the pilot). The remaining 178 units are distributed across the province based on need.
Wilby said there are 164 individuals (nine of them youths) using the bracelets, leaving 26 available provincially — in the ministry’s experience, more than enough.
That said, there are occasions, albeit rare, when monitors run scarce in one court point or another, he said.
“I remember hearing a bit about a year and a half ago, and it was the same situation where we just didn’t have them in the right place at the right time, and it will take some time in order to get them there,” he said.
Unit availability changes daily, dependent on factors such as the number of offenders appearing in court on a given day, adjournments, equipment malfunctions, damage to the units, absconds, and terminations or completions of bail or sentence, he added. Units are transferred between locations as needed, only occasionally resulting in a brief delay.
While the current system is not perfect — it is not available in some rural and remote parts of the province, for example — Wilby said there are definite benefits to electronic monitoring.
“Electronic monitoring, or monitoring in general, is an important tool for us, because it can reduce the cost of those staying in our correctional facilities, if done right and given to the right type of offender,” he said.
Wilby said the province is looking into switching to GPS technology.