Improving public safety through technology: The past, present, and future of electronic monitoring in Canada

Sexual predators who target strangers cause great harm to individuals, families, and the community, and generate considerable fear. There is a robust legal regime in place to manage Dangerous Offenders and Long Term Offenders, including supervision by parole officers and access to electronic monitoring. However, the legal tools and capacity to manage offenders who reach their “Warrant Expiry Date” (“WED”) after failing to qualify for parole or statutory release are limited to recognizances under section 810.1 and 810.2 of the Criminal Code and ad hoc monitoring by police. Modern Global Position Satellite (GPS) based electronic monitoring (EM) provides a cost-effective opportunity to improve the supervision of predatory offenders released at the end of their prison sentences and can increase public safety. This Major Paper explores the legal regime to manage dangerous, long term, and WED prisoners, and profiles WED offenders, examines the history and features of EM technology, as well as its use internationally, and summarizes the research on the efficacy of EM. Further, this Major Paper considers current and future uses of GPS-based EM for crime solving, as an alternative to detention in appropriate cases pending trial, to prevent terrorism, and in forensic psychiatry. This Major Paper also explores the use of EM outside the criminal justice system, such as for those suffering from cognitive disorders who “wander.” Finally, this Major Paper makes several recommendations to increase the use of EM for sexual predators in well-designed, evidence-based studies, and concludes that this can be done in a cost-effective manner that balances privacy rights with legitimate public safety goals.