The recent arrest of a high risk offender in the death of a Surrey teen has many people asking what can be done to keep the public safe.
One solution being discussed is a greater use electronic monitoring, but it turns out its use has dropped dramatically in B.C.
In Alberta, sophisticated GPS ankle bracelets are now being used to monitor high risk offenders out in the community.
Breaches are picked up in seconds — alerting law enforcement immediately — 24 hours a day.
It’s much more advanced than the older technology being used here in B.C.
The debate over electronic monitoring reignited in B.C. after the murder of 17-year-old Surrey teen Serena Vermeersch.
The alleged killer, Raymond Caissie is a convicted rapist -who was denied parole eight times .
He was not wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet when he was released as Crown never asked for one.
The numbers of individuals wearing the devices has dropped dramatically in B.C. over the past few years — from 172 in 2010 to just 75 now.
The government says it’s doesn’t know why the numbers are down 56 per cent as B.C. Corrections doesn’t keep track of this data.
The provincial government spends about one million per year on electronic monitoring.
Global News spoke to one criminal justice expert who says the laws are in place to protect the public from high risk offenders. He says what’s lacking is funding.
The cost for the new GPS ankle bracelets being used in Alberta is about $25 a day per offender.
— with files from Rumina Daya, Global News
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