Home Detention with Electronic Monitoring: The New Zealand Experience

Abstract

Home detention with electronic monitoring was introduced in New Zealand in October 1999. It is an early release option for people sentenced to varying lengths of imprisonment. Detainees, as they are called, are released to their homes, and monitored by means of an electronic bracelet attached to their ankle. Detainees are supported and supervised by the probation service, as well as their families and sponsors. This article outlines the development of home detention in New Zealand and discusses the findings of research undertaken by the authors in 2001. Home detention has, on the whole, been viewed positively, but the negative impacts on families and children, and the broader acceptance of electronic monitoring in New Zealand, reveal a worrying level of tolerance for the coercive surveillance of families.