Tracking bracelets to keep offenders away from victims implemented in Montreal
Posted May 9, 2023 11:44 am.
Tracking bracelets to keep individuals accused or convicted of violent crimes away from their victims are being deployed in four new regions of Quebec: Montreal, Côte-Nord, Estrie and Centre-du-Québec.
Quebec City, Chaudière-Appalaches, Joliette and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield previously obtained the device last spring.
The bracelet was then implemented in Lanaudière, the Laurentians, Laval and Montérégie in the fall. Mauricie and Outaouais were added a few weeks ago.
So far, 65 ankle bracelets have been imposed in the province. A judge, the Quebec Parole Board and management of a detention facility are authorized to order the wearing of the device.
The device is a bracelet worn on the ankle that the accused or offender cannot remove. It’s paired with a mobile application installed on a cell phone given to the victim or alleged victim. As soon as the wearer of the bracelet is within a certain perimeter from which the victim is located, a signal is transmitted to a monitoring centre, and a police intervention will be triggered.
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Quebec is the first Canadian legislation to adopt technology aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said in a press release.
Bas-Saint-Laurent and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean should be the next regions to welcome the technology next month. Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Nord-du-Québec will follow in September.
The deployment of the bracelet at the provincial level comes with an estimated cost of $41 million.
—This report by La Presse Canadienne was first published in French and translated by CityNews
