Will you be placed with an ankle monitor after being released from jail on bond? How long will you have to wear it? Here\u2019s some helpful information about ankle monitors and what you can expect while wearing one.<\/p>\n
An ankle monitor, or ankle bracelet, is a location-monitoring device worn by an offender to inform police authorities of their whereabouts when outside of a prison setting. The device uses a GPS tracker mounted to a circular cuff worn around the ankle to alert officials when the wearer exists an allowed geographical area, such as the immediate city they live in or even limited to their own house. Some ankle bracelets have the ability to monitor the wearer\u2019s perspiration for alcohol content, uploading the data to a centralized computer system once per hour, making them ideal for tracking repeated DUI offenders.<\/p>\n
A judge may order a person to wear an ankle bracelet in lieu of jail time or as a condition of parole. In some states, only offenders of non-violent crimes are eligible to be monitored by one of these devices alone. Ankle bracelets can sometimes be used with people facing deportation from the country, allowing them to move about freely until an immigration hearing can take place rather than confining them to a detention facility. In general, the ankle monitor is meant to grant non-violent offenders with enough freedom to continue employment and meet other conditions as required by the court, and serves as an alternative to imprisonment or detention.<\/p>\n
In most cases, a person released from jail on bail bond would not be required to wear an ankle monitor upon release. If the bond amount is paid in full and the crime was non-violent in nature, further monitoring of the individual is not deemed necessary. Occasionally, a bondsman or bond broker may negotiate the use of an ankle monitor as part of the conditions for a client\u2019s release, however this is usually done when the amount of the bond is very large or for violent offenders. How long a released offender may have to wear the ankle monitor is decided by judge and varies widely depending upon the crime committed.<\/p>\n