The Manitoba government is expanding its electronic monitoring program, which tracks offenders released on bail. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced on Thursday an additional investment of $1.2 million.
The program was reinstated in August of last year to supervise offenders on community-based sentence, and release orders to ensure they comply with court-imposed conditions. Electronic devices and monitoring services with a global positioning system tracking allow law enforcement to be notified of an offender's location in real time and issue alerts if they enter a prohibited area.
The program first started in Winnipeg last August and expanded in November to include Steinbach, Brandon, Souris, Portage la Prairie, Dauphin, Selkirk, and Winkler. It also implemented alerts for victims of intimate partner violence.
Thursday's announcement brings the total commitment to $2.7 million this year and will add up to an additional 100 ankle monitors as needed for a total of 200 devices. Wiebe says as of July 10, the program recorded a total of 321 participants, with all 100 devices currently in use to monitor compliance.
"Our government is taking important steps to make communities safer by putting another part of our public safety strategy into action," says Wiebe. "We're cracking down on repeat offenders by expanding the electronic monitoring program and doubling the amount of ankle monitors to help keep people safe. We've heard from people across the province about the impact crime has had in their communities, and they want repeat offenders held accountable to the release conditions."
The program plans to introduce new curfew monitoring software that uses secure video conferencing and biometric identification to monitor offenders who do not require a traditional ankle bracelet. This approach will lessen the burden on police officers completing in-person curfew checks and allow them to focus on responding to emergencies. Wiebe says Commissionaires Manitoba is contracted to oversee the program.