A Profile of Offenders in the Electronic Monitoring Research Pilot: The First Year

Why we are doing this study

In January 2013, the Government of Canada responded to recommendations of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security by indicating that it would conduct a pilot in order to evaluate and examine the use, impact, and cost-effectiveness of Electronic Monitoring (EM) with federal offenders. The Electronic Monitoring Research Pilot (EMRP) was implemented through a phased approach by region between July and November 2015.

The research component of the pilot aims to increase CSC’s understanding of EM’s possible effects on offenders, staff, and stakeholders, as well as on community supervision practices and public safety.

What we are doing

This research is prospective in nature and involves a multi-method, quasi-experimental design that will span several years. The current summary provides an overview of the 124 offenders (representing 141 supervision periods) that have been monitored using EM since the implementation of the pilot, as of July 29, 2016. Participants include high risk offenders with a geographical special condition monitored with EM.^{Footnote 1}

What we have found so far

Table 1 presents the number of referrals, applications and removals by region. Of the 231 referrals for EM to date, 8 did not receive consent to proceed (did not meet the participation criteria), and an additional 19 were withdrawn. On July 29, 2016, there were 57 offenders on EM and 84 offenders had been removed from EM.^{Footnote 2} Of these removals, 50 offenders had been removed prior to the end of their EM term and 18 offenders were subsequently referred for a second period of EM. For offenders who have completed or been removed from EM, the device was worn for a mean of 56.2 days (SD = 43.18).

Of the 124 offenders who have been monitored using EM, 9 are women and 31 are Indigenous. As can be seen in the table below, there is regional variation in the use of EM, with the Ontario region utilizing EM most frequently.

Table 1: Status of EM Supervision periods by Region

Region	Referrals	Applications	Removals
Atlantic	15	10	10
Quebec	54	30	15
Ontario	112	72	41
Prairies	26	13	8
Pacific	24	16	10
Total	231	141	84

What it means

Although EM training is mandatory for all case management staff, its utilization has been lower in some regions. To date, EM is being used most frequently in the Ontario region, where EM was initially piloted and was implemented earlier in the EMRP. The use of EM continues to be encouraged nationally as a supervision tool to monitor a condition.

This is a multi-year project; therefore the preliminary results presented represent a snapshot of the offenders that have been on EM to date. Future research will utilize the full sample of offenders participating in the EMRP.

For more information

Please e-mail the Research Branch or contact us by phone at (613) 995-3975.

You can also visit the Research Publications section for a full list of reports and one-page summaries.

Prepared by:  Laura Hanby