Electronic monitoring: the experience in Australia

Electronic monitoring (EM) has been introduced in over 30 countries around the world. In most English-speaking countries, it has moved well beyond experimental status and become a regularly applied penal measure. Australia has been lagging behind this world trend, as EM has yet not become dominant in our correctional landscape. This is even though sanctions that utilise radio-frequency and/or global positioning systems (GPS) monitoring have existed in Australia for decades. This article critically examines overseas evaluative findings of EM in relation to recidivism, cost-effectiveness and net-widening, as well as some of the issues and concerns that are associated with EM. The article then summarises and explains the limited Australian EM experience to date. It predicts that increased application of EM in Australia seems likely and should be evidence-based. In this context, there is an urgent need for increased understanding about the use and impact of EM in Australia. The article concludes with some observations about the importance of comparative analysis in this context.