Catch and release
By Nicole Kobie in Editorial
Posted in public sector on
My flat was broken into a few months back, but the police caught the guy (or the alleged guy, as it were.) Owing to overcrowded prisons and whatnot, he was released on bail, with a curfew and an electronic monitoring anklet (very fashionable this year) to keep him in line.
Now, I never really thought about this before – why would I? – but I always kind of assumed that such monitoring tags were traceable, so if the dude (or the alleged dude) didn’t show up for court as my alleged burglar allegedy did, the police would hit a button and a little blinking light would show up on a computerised map and they’d go get him, or he’d get zapped or something. (I might possibly watch too many movies.)
Of course, if you think about that for a few minutes, it makes no sense. Though I’m sure the technology exists, it’s likely rather expensive. And it’s probably against one’s rights and freedoms to be monitored in such a way, even if you are a criminal (or an alleged one).
I asked my Witness Care Officer how the technology actually works. The electronic tag – which is removable, but not without some force and perseverance, I’m told – only watches a tagged individual (or an allegedly tagged individual) to see if they keep their curfew.
So a monitoring box is placed in the home of the curfewed-one (or allegedly curfewed-one), and if the tag is not within range between the hours of, say, 8pm to 6am, then an officer goes around to see what’s up. Why, I don’t know, as the tagged-one is clearly not actually there.
Don’t get me wrong: I can see the utility of this. It’s much easier and more accurate to electronically monitor someone in this way than it is to do it manually, with police driving around to each bailed person’s house. It’s just a shame they can’t, y’know, use it to find my absconded alleged burglar. Or to zap him.
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