Home Confinement, also known as House Arrest, Home Detention, or Electronic Monitoring is when a person is convicted of a crime or waiting for their trial, and instead of being sent to jail, is remanded to their own home where they must stay 24/7 for the length of the sentence or until the trial date.
Home confinement has been used throughout history although it was originally used for political dissidents. Galileo was kept under house arrest during and after his trial for heresy. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that the use of house arrest became used as an alternative to prison. Before that, it was expensive to maintain surveillance on someone who was sentenced to home confinement but improvements in the electronic monitoring systems made it less expensive and easier to monitor people on home confinement.
The most common form of house arrest monitoring is done with the use of an ankle monitor. This electronic device is locked around the prisoner’s ankle and sends a GPS signal to the police station or wherever the person is being monitored from (sometimes private monitoring services are used.). The monitors notify authorities when the bracelet has left the residence or is being tampered with. Many jurisdictions make the defendant pay for the cost of monitoring of further save money.
Home Confinement is used as a way to save money as well as decrease recidivism. Depending on the crime, you may be able to leave your house while under house arrest for such things as a job, attending rehab programs, going to the doctor, and attending school. Most likely, you will have to only go to these activities and return directly home but even if you are allowed to leave at certain times, you will have to wear the monitor 24/7. For some, confinement is a curfew and they have the freedom to go where they want during the day and have to be home during the evening.
If you violate the conditions of your home confinement, you will be remanded to jail where you will serve out the remainder of your sentence.
If you have a steady job, few or no prior offenses, are not a member of a gang, and the crime you committed was a non-violent one, you have a good chance of being considered for house arrest. Being on Home Confinement lets the defendant have relationships with family members which is can be strained or difficult to do in jail. For many prisoners, life in prison reinforces or validates their life of crime and may even teach them how to be better criminals but being under house arrest allows the prisoner to maintain ties and be a productive member of society. It also saves the government money, aids in relieving overcrowding jails, and makes it easier for the prisoner to get on the right path.
If you’ve been arrested in Florida, Mercy Bail Bonds can help. Our knowledgeable and caring staff can guide you through the bail bond process and work to get you out of jail quickly and confidentially. Call Mercy today at (727) 856-7775.