What Are Some Reasons to Be on an Ankle Police Bracelet?
- Ankle bracelets are most commonly used for people who are under house arrest under the terms of their probation. House arrest is an alternative punishment where the person is limited to their house for punishment. The person cannot leave the home unless accompanied by police officers. Police officers attach an ankle bracelet on the person's ankle and set up an electronic field around the circumference of the house. If the person walks outside this circumference, the ankle bracelet goes off, informing law enforcement about the inraction.
- Many people who commit DUI or DWI crimes may receive house arrest as a punishment. The ankle bracelet commonly given to drug or alcohol abusing criminals include a blood testing device. The device gently pricks into the person's blood stream, monitoring to see if the blood contains any drugs or alcohol. This is similar to ia person walking off their property; the bracelet will alarm law enforcement if the bracelet detects slight amounts of alcohol or drugs in the person's blood.
- If the probation is not too severe, some people may leave their homes regularly without supervision. However, an ankle bracelet may sometimes still be attached to the person to monitor their movements. Unlike a bracelet that alarms the police department if the person leaves their home, a monitoring bracelet helps police know where the person is going at all times. The bracelets use a global positioning system, (GPS) to report to police departments where the person is going at all times. This way, the police know that the person is just doing errands at a store and not returning to the scene of a crime or where the person bought or sold drugs.
- Not all probation cases will involve the same police ankle bracelet. For example, if a person is involved in a DUI case, that does not automatically mean that the person will have to wear a blood-alcohol ankle bracelet. Instead, judges havae discretion on what type of bracelet to use on a person on probation. Many law enforcement bodies, and commercial security firms who often produce the ankle bracelet technology, argue that the ankle bracelet helps cut law enforcement costs.