Today Stockwell Day announced a pilot project that would require high-risk parolees to wear electronic monitoring ankle bracelets during their parole. The theory is that the bracelets could be used to monitor offenders to ensure that they comply with the terms of their release for instance staying away from parks. I wonder how well these things will work. Will they print out automated reports that an offender has violated there parole or will they be monitored live? Will these reports be used as proof by the National Parole Board that the offender has violated his or her parole? If the devices are monitored live what about the privacy implications of tracking a person all the time? Yes, in my opinion, parolees have a right to privacy–prisoners do too. They ought not to be subject to this kind of monitoring.
Maybe the pilot program will turn out to be a good thing and my fears will be unfounded. Then again it is a Conservative government.
Theory of the Case 