Electronic Monitoring Myth Busting

These tagging myths have done the rounds with subjects, the press and criminal justice professionals.
Customers come to us with enquiries about stories that they have heard, concerned that they may be true and unable to counteract them with facts.

Whether sentencing or managing offenders, being equipped with the knowledge to dismiss such untruths is essential. To give you a head start with this we have collated some examples of the regular questions we answer.

THE MYTH “Culprits are often using cigarette lighters to burn the band attaching the device to their leg.” “A resident in the hostel I was in whilst on tag used a cigarette lighter to remove his tag, what is to stop me doing that?”	THE FACTS Tags are designed to be removed with the use of a sharp instrument. Whilst it may be possible to burn through the strap with a cigarette lighter or cigarette the likelihood of the wearer being burned in the process would be high. Whether or not the strap is successfully burned, once the tag has been tampered with or removed, the information is immediately reported to our Control Centre. We would take enforcement action as a result of the tamper.
THE MYTH "The monitoring unit has a battery back up so you can move the unit anywhere you like."	THE FACTS The monitoring unit has numerous tamper alerts. If anyone attempted to move the unit , this would be flagged to our Control Centre and enforcement action taken.
THE MYTH “An offender I was working with would go out during curfew hours but claim to be in the bath. Is it true that the signal is disrupted by a subject having a bath?”	THE FACTS Tags are waterproof and having a shower or bath does not interfere with monitoring. In a few cases cast iron baths can interfere with the tags signal but it is extremely rare that the signals are totally blocked. As part of the installation process we test to see if the bath affects monitoring and adjust the placement of the box accordingly to resolve any issues. If the problem reoccurred and it was not possible for the person to bath outside of curfew hours or have a shower, we would take revocation action. However, we are not aware of any instances, out of the 168,000 people we have monitored, where we have had to take revocation action because of a bath.
THE MYTH "Ice interferes with the signal if you put your foot in the freezer or a bucket."	THE FACTS This is not true you will simply get cold feet.
THE MYTH “I read a funny story in the press about someone that took their tag off, put it on the dog and went out. What would stop them putting it on another person”	THE FACTS Tags cannot be removed without the system reporting it to our Control Centre. If someone did remove the tag and placed it on their dog for example we would know that the tag had been removed and would take enforcement action.
THE MYTH "Is it true that if the mobile signal strength is low it interferes with the monitoring?"	THE FACTS Mobile signal strengths only affect our ability to download information to our Control Centre in real time. It does not interfere with monitoring. Fluctuations are usually only for short periods and our equipment continues to monitor offenders and store events. Once the mobile signal is restored, the event information is retrieved and automatically sent to the Control Centre.
THE MYTH "In a recent session an offender boasted to other offenders in the group to have stretched the strap by heating it, with a hair dryer until they could slip the tag off. Is that possible?"	THE FACTS This is not possible as the strap is made from material that is designed to stretch no further than 5% of the original length. This would not provide enough length to slip off the ankle.
THE MYTH "I have had an offender in a breach court hearing claiming that the tag just fell off when riding a bike and on another occasion whilst playing football."	THE FACTS The tag is designed so that once fitted on the ankle properly, it can only be removed by breaking or cutting the strap. Tags do not simply fall off.
THE MYTH "You can pull the tag off."	THE FACTS Considerable effort is required to break the strap of a tag. It cannot be done accidentally. If the tag is removed or tampered with, this message is sent to our Control Centre. We would then take enforcement action.