Remote Tracking of Parolees Through Apps
| Remote Tracking of Parolees Through Apps | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | Software Remotely Monitoring Parolees And People on Probation |
| Location | United States |
| Date | November 2020 |
| Solove Harm | Surveillance |
| Information | Location, Behavioral |
| Threat Actors | Tracktech, Law Enforcement |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | Parolees, People on Probation |
| High Risk Groups | Criminal |
| Tangible Harms | |
Smartphone software, installed on phones as a condition of release, remotely monitoring parolees and people on probation.
Description
For decades, parole and probation officers have supervised people on house arrest, parole, and probation remotely with GPS-enabled ankle bracelets. In 2020, as a pandemic deters person-to-person contact, remote supervision in criminal justice is moving to a new frontier: the smartphone.
Tracktech mimic more well known forms of remote supervision like ankle monitoring, but instead are installed on phones as a condition of release. Surveillance
They monitor juveniles and adults alike on parole, probation, and pretrial release. Parolees can connect with case officers through text or video. GPS features track whether a parolee has kept a consistent schedule, moving only between work and home. Officers can place geofences around “off limit” spaces, like liquor stores or gun stores, and receive notifications if a parolee gets too close.
critics call the field a form of “e-carceration,” a sanitized, but still dehumanizing form of imprisonment.
Breakdown
Threat: Law enforcement monitoring parolees on probation through smartphones apps
At-Risk group: Parolees on probation
Harm: Surveillance
Secondary Consequences: Potentially: Anxiety, Incarceration
Laws and Regulations
Sources
https://www.wired.com/story/apps-putting-parole-agent-your-pocket/