The effectiveness of electronic monitoring with violent male parolees

Research on electronic monitoring (EM) has ignored its effectiveness with high-risk, violent offenders. This article examines the effectiveness of using EM as a supervision tool for violent male parolees by comparing those who were mandated to such supervision who were released in fiscal year 1996 (N = 128) to a random sample who did not receive such supervision who were released in fiscal year 1995 (N = 158). Effectiveness was assessed by examining return to prison and time to failure within four years of release. The results indicated that, after controlling for relevant demographic and criminal history variables, EM had no direct effect on the likelihood of recommitment to prison or time until failure. Parolees who reported drug problems and those with lower parole-success likelihood scores were more likely to fail and to fail more quickly. Sex offenders on EM were less likely to return to prison than those not on EM, and those on EM who eventually returned to prison remained in the community longer than did those not on EM. Implications for the usefulness of EM as a tool in parole supervision are discussed.