CBC Report: Parolee Electronic Monitoring Pilot Project Is A Failure

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has obtained an internal review that concludes that a pilot project to equip parolees with electronic monitoring anklets was a failure:

"Nearly two years ago, then public safety minister Stockwell Day announced the pilot project with great fanfare as part of the Conservative government's tough-on-crime stance."

"But an internal review of the program, obtained by CBC News, found that it was plagued by technical malfunctions with the anklet's global positioning system and showed little proof as to the effectiveness of the device (...)"

"The Correctional Service of Canada review of its own program found the technology was faulty and often failed to pinpoint a parolee's whereabouts accurately."

"For example, there was only one valid electronic anklet alert out of 19 where a parolee had actually tampered with his anklet strap. Most of the false alarms were due to equipment sensitivity and hardware or software issues. About one-third, or six cases, were caused by accidental jarring at work or during other activities."

"And all seven alerts that parolees had tampered with the device itself turned out to be false."

The CBC provides a copy of the full report.