Completed audit of parolees and community based offenders on electronic monitoring
Fyles, Natasha Kate
Australian Labor Party
Media Releases for 13th Assembly 2016 - 2020; Media Releases; ParliamentNT
2019-06-25
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Prisoners; Sentencing; Electronic surveillance
Northern Territory Government
application/pdf
Issued as a Media Release
Northern Territory Government
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/752196
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/753580
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/753579
Electronic Monitoring Audit Page 25 of 30 There are 196 people on electronic monitoring of which 190 have inclusion and/or exclusion zones in place, which includes curfews. Of these: 186 curfews / movement restriction conditions were implemented within the specified timeframe in the OMF. 4 curfew / movement restriction conditions were implemented outside the required timeframes but are currently in place. Of the 6 marked as N/A, 4 are offenders who do not have any movement restrictions specified in their court orders and 2 are Department of Health Clients. Effectiveness of Electronic Monitoring as a Compliance Tool Electronic monitoring is a tool to assist with tracking the movements of offenders; this does not necessarily directly correlate to the nature of the offending and the risk posed by the unsanctioned movement. Some movements can be innocuous by nature and other movements might cause a risk. It relies on Probation and Parole Officers to assess the type of violation which has occurred. Electronic monitoring assists with information gathering in relation to the locality of an offender. However electronic monitoring does not limit or monitor who the offender may be with or what they are doing. Probation and Parole officers are required to analyse the data and work with offenders to ensure they are complying with their orders and requirements. A prompt response from Community Corrections and Police is required if a serious violation occurs, for example a confirmed strap tamper, or breach of victim inclusion zone, and a risk to the community is identified. Due to the geographically dispersed population in the Northern Territory, it is difficult for swift responses to occur in remote localities. Electronic monitoring is simply a tool to assist with information gathering in relation to the locality of an offender. Other Matters Identified During the Investigation It was noted during the audit that 16% of offenders subject to electronic monitoring have been assessed as low risk. This is inconsistent with literature which suggests that electronic monitoring should target offenders at medium and high risk of reoffending. 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 6 4 186 Electronic Monitoring Conditions N/A Not in required timeframe Yes