Electronic monitoring: A first step towards an integrated correctional system

There are questions about the effectiveness of prisons in reducing crime, their economic and social costs, and their moral justification. It has become increasingly clear that prisons are unfit for the widespread purposes for which they are used today. Radical reform is necessary to transform the role of prisons from being a core part of a largely fragmented problem into one element of a cohesive solution. A more consistent sentencing framework, incorporating multiple alternatives, would include electronic monitoring, increasing monitoring and police presence, and investment in rehabilitation and reintegration programs, could enable prisons to serve a clearer purpose in the sentencing mix. These alternatives to prisons are not in themselves a silver bullet, and a comparative analysis of Australian and international experiences with alternative correction systems reveals that these measures have their own flaws. Prisons are unlikely to ever be eliminated, but alternatives to prison should be considered as part of a multidimensional shift towards evidence-based policymaking. This article focuses on electronic monitoring as one important contributor to a holistic and contextualised approach to criminal punishment, which would improve outcomes for victims, offenders, and society at large.