Prisoner Tracking Bracelet's Technical Glitches Spark Canadian Debate

August 12, 2008 7:57 a.m. EST

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - Electronic bracelets, similar to those worn by Lindsay Lohan and Martha Stewart, will be placed on the ankles of 30 Canadian federal parolees. However, the high-tech prisoner tracking system is sparking objections ranging from human-rights violations to technical glitches.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced the introduction on Monday of an electronic monitoring program in which 30 Ontario federal inmates will be encouraged to join an ankle-bracelet pilot program. If an inmate refuses to join the program, Day hinted the parolee would be considered uncooperative.

The trial period will run for one year at a cost of $600,000. It is based on a similar program in Nova Scotia. Thirty electronic tracking units will be leased from the Nova Scotia government. The police will be alerted if a bracelet-wearer breaks curfew or location limitations, like entering a children's playground if he is banned.

The John Howard Society, a prisoner's advocacy group, objects to the electronic anklet due to technical problems like fading signals and says global positioning satellite tracking systems are not always in real-time. Craig Jones, executive director of the society, cited a 2007 study that called the bracelets "correctional quackery."

Day said the 30 prisoners would include a mixture of sexual and serious offenders. Peel Police Chief Mike Metcalf supports the pilot program to help keep track of its 700 offenders and parolees, now being monitored by only six officers.

Tony Cannavino, president of the Canadian Police Association, defended the pilot program. "If you've been a pedophile or a violent criminal and you want to go back into society, you have to play by the rules... I don't see why you would complain about wearing the bracelet," Cannavino told the Ottawa Sun.

Day added, "We believe this will stand up and this does stand up to federal and provincial legislation but we must keep the rights of children and the rights of law-abiding citizens at the forefront, and they will be paramount."