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Abstract: 

Recent studies suggest that adding EM to the mix of treatment components can enhance public safety while reducing both the monetary and human costs of recidivism and incarceration. This article summarizes the findings of a half dozen significant investigations, of varying rigor and methodological soundness, but all of interest, including studies on the use of EM in enforcing domestic violence restraining orders, remote alcohol monitoring of DUI offenders, the public safety impact of using EM as an early release sanction in Sweden, EM and crime desistance, and the use of EM in gaining compliance with child support payment obligations. Marc Renzema concludes that, overall, the studies make a case for the use of EM in offender rehabilitation, providing examples of its effectiveness. To make the case for the importance of planning, suggest what EM can do, might be able to do, and cannot do, and provide examples on how we are beginning to be able to tailor its use to amenable offenders and to select technologies appropriate to those offenders and the predetermined specific missions.

Keywords: Effectiveness of electronic monitoring; domestic violence restraining orders; child support enforcement; remote alcohol testing for DUI offenders; early release on EM; use of EM in Sweden; high-risk offenders

Affiliations:  1: Kutztown University (Emeritus).