In response to overcrowding in prisons and jails, as well as calls for bail reform, courts are increasingly using some form of house arrest with electronic monitoring as an alternative to traditional incarceration or keeping criminal defendants behind bars before they go to trial.

Many people see home detention as a big improvement over prison or jail. In theory at least, it allows offenders to keep or get jobs, maintain family relationships, and attend rehab programs when that’s appropriate. All of that could help them avoid committing more crimes.

However, some critics point to problems with expanding the use of “e-carceration,” especially when it replaces less-restrictive forms of pretrial release or parole and saddles people with the stigma and expense of ankle monitors. The benefits and drawbacks of home confinement depend in part on the context—when it’s used and what it replaces—as well as the conditions.

When Is Home Detention Used?

Some form of house arrest is commonly used with or instead of bail, or as a condition of probation or parole.

• Supervised pretrial release. If you’ve been charged with a crime, you usually have the right to be released on bail or on your own recognizance before trial. As a condition of release, the judge may require some type of home detention. It’s likely that courts will rely more on electronic monitoring as a form of supervised pretrial release to ensure that defendants show up for their court dates, particularly as other states follow California’s move to eliminate money bail in 2019.
• Serving your sentence in home detention. If you’ve pleaded guilty or are convicted of a crime, you may be able to shorten your jail sentence—or avoid going behind bars at all—by agreeing to house arrest as a condition of probation. The court may also order home detention after you’ve been convicted but before you’ve been sentenced.
• Home confinement while on parole. When prisoners are released on parole—usually after serving a good part of their sentence—the parole board will impose conditions or “terms of parole.” Electronic monitoring and home detention may be included in the original parole conditions or added as a sanction for violating other parole terms.

Who Is Eligible for Home Detention Instead of Jail?

Although the rules vary from state to state (as well as in federal court), defendants are typically eligible to participate in home confinement in lieu of pretrial detention or a sentence of incarceration if they’ve been charged with or convicted of misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies, don't have a history of violent crimes, and haven’t violated previous home detention conditions.

Juvenile courts also frequently use home confinement for minors who’ve committed nonviolent offenses.

What Are Ankle Monitors—and Who Pays for Them?

Electronic monitoring is the most common condition of home confinement. If you’re under house arrest, you’ll generally have to wear an ankle monitor (also called an ankle bracelet, tether, or electronic shackle) with one of three types of monitoring technology:

• a radio-frequency transmitter that alerts authorities when you leave your residence
• GPS (global positioning system), which tracks all of your movements and whereabouts, or
• SCRAM (secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring), which detects any alcohol consumption and is often used with alcohol-related offenses.

Along with the stigma of wearing an ankle monitor—and the difficulty of getting or keeping some jobs when you’re wearing one—you’ll usually have to pay a fee for the privilege ($5 to $25 a day or more). Obviously, the cost can add up quickly and pose a significant barrier for low-income defendants who want to avoid jail. Some jurisdictions are beginning to address the inequities involved in those fees. As part of its 2019 bail reform measure, California prohibited charging defendants for the non-bail costs of pretrial supervised release (Cal. Penal Code § 1320.20(e)(2)). The City and County of San Francisco went even further by passing an ordinance in 2018 that abolished all fees for participating in electronic monitoring and home detention, which used to cost $35 a day in the county.

Other Restrictions With Home Detention

In addition to ankle monitors, typical conditions for house arrest include:

• curfew hours when you must be at home
• restrictions on where and why you may leave home, such as for work, education, medical and legal appointments, or court appearances
• having a landline phone, so that authorities know you’re home (with the help of voice recognition software) when you check in by phone or they call you , and
• regular drug and/or alcohol testing.

In the most restrictive form of house arrest, often called home incarceration, offenders must stay at home 24 hours a day except for very limited authorized absences.

What Happens When You Break House Arrest Rules?

Potentially, you could be rearrested and wind up behind bars again if you violate the conditions of home detention, including by removing or tampering with your ankle monitor. It could also be considered breaking the rules if the battery on your monitor runs down or malfunctions, or if you have to leave home suddenly because of a medical emergency and aren’t able to get advance approval from your supervising officer.

Generally, however, you’re entitled to a hearing where the judge or parole board will decide whether you violated the conditions of supervised release and, if so, whether to send you back to jail or prison.

Depending on where you live, you could also be charged with the crime of escape for violating house arrest rules, just as if you escaped from jail.

Getting Credit for Time Served in Home Detention

In some states, you may be able to get credit on your sentence for all or a portion of the time you served in home detention, particularly when it includes electronic monitoring. For instance, this might happen when you were released on house arrest after you were convicted but before sentencing, or when you have to go back to jail after violating the terms of your confinement.

Speaking With Your Lawyer

If you’re interested in getting home detention as a condition of pretrial release or probation, ask your criminal defense attorney or public defender whether you’re eligible, how to request it, the potential conditions, and the consequences of violating those conditions. Even though house arrest instead of jail or prison may seem like a no-brainer, you should know what you’re getting into. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help see that you get released with the least restrictive conditions the law allows under your circumstances.