Saskatchewan buying 100 more ankle bracelets for offenders on release

An electronic monitoring device, or ankle bracelt, sits on display.

The Government of Saskatchewan is spending $2 million to buy 100 Global Positioning System-enabled (GPS) ankle bracelets to supervise people released from correctional facilities.

“Protecting Saskatchewan people is our priority,” said Community Safety Minister Michael Weger in a Monday news release.

“Electronic monitoring gives our corrections employees the tools they need to track individuals in the community and respond quickly when conditions are breached.”

Saskatchewan’s Electronic Monitoring Program has a total of 360 monitoring units – split between 190 radio frequency units and 170 GPS units.

The province called electronic monitoring the “most accountability-focused supervision option” available for offenders living in their communities.

“Electronic monitoring allows corrections employees to track offenders’ movements, enforce curfews and respond to alerts in real-time,” the government said in its update.

“GPS monitoring can also be used to set up alerts for when an offender enters an area the court has ordered they are not supposed to be in, such as a victim’s residence, schoolyard or playground.”

The province added that probation officers work closely with police to make sure that offenders adhere to their conditions while monitored.

When an offender with a history of violence is being tracked through electronic monitoring, the province says police are notified through the Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team to ensure a “rapid” response in the case of any breach in their conditions.

-With files from David Prisciak