If a person in Florida is required to wear an electronic monitoring device, tampering with that device could mean trouble. But some lawmakers want to beef up the consequences.
The measure is intended to reinforce integrity in Florida’s electronic monitoring system. Miami Republican Senator Ileana Garcia is behind the bill.
“This bill enhances penalties for those who attempt to evade court ordered supervision by unlawfully altering, removing or damaging their monitoring devices," she said. "By ensuring stricter consequences, SB 1054 reinforces accountability and upholds the effectiveness of electronic monitoring as a tool for public safety and judicial oversight.”
An electronic monitoring device, like an ankle monitor, notifies officials if a violation occurs, such as a person breaking curfew, going somewhere they’re not supposed to be, or removing the device. Garcia says it’s a lot for officials to keep up with.
“I think the bill comes about due to the huge responsibility that we have regarding oversight of 145,000 offenders," she said. "One hundred and thirty probation offices have to monitor 145,000 offenders, and what I think they want to do is sort of close the gaps in the legal framework and ensure stronger enforcement.”
These offenders include people released from prison on parole or conditional release. They also include offenders placed on various types of court-ordered supervision, such as probation.
Under the bill, if a person on pretrial release tampers with an electronic monitoring device, his or her pretrial release will be terminated.
But Marsia Brana, speaking to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, warned that the bill could have unintended consequences.
“It is an added level of punishment," she said. "The wifi can go out in a hurricane or thunderstorm. The battery dies. If it works in a building, like Goodwill -- if someone works in a building like Goodwill, where the signal cannot get to the receiver …a malfunction while walking in the rain…a device is not waterproof…”
The list goes on, Brana said. For instance, in an area with lots of metal, a signal can’t reach the receiver.
“Florida is already burdened with a $2.2 billion prison problem," she said. "Yet legislators want to create more laws with added levels of sentencing that do nothing to deter crime because most people will not know about this law and that will not actually deter crime. So, just please consider doing research into the unintended consequences…”
But Broward Democratic Senator Jason Pizzo, a prosecutor, supported the measure.
“If someone’s arrested on a charge and one of the conditions to get out while awaiting trial is a monitoring device -- say, an ankle monitor, and now they make watches and everything -- and if they violate that and it revokes their bond, I’m okay with that,” he said.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee passed the bill unanimously. The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee has approved a version of the bill, which is now in the House Judiciary Committee.
