Electronic Monitoring on Bail (EM Bail)

Ankle bracelet used to confirm location Electronic Monitoring on Bail (EM Bail) provides the courts with an option to bail remand prisoners on condition that they are electronically monitored.

New Zealand’s increasing rate of imprisonment is not sustainable, either financially or socially. New approaches are needed for reducing and preventing crime and punishing and rehabilitating offenders. One such initiative is electronic monitoring on bail (EM bail).

EM bail is a bail option for use by the Courts, whereby electronic monitoring may be used as a special condition of bail for court-approved defendants.

EM bail is managed by the New Zealand Police (Police), which is an extension of what Police currently do under the Bail Act 2000. A person charged with an offence can be remanded in custody or released on bail (with or without special conditions) until trial. Police provide submissions to the Courts in respect of defendants who apply for bail and are charged with overseeing aspects of the compliance of those who have been granted bail, e.g., visiting bail addresses to check on compliance with curfew.

The need to protect the interests of the victim, consideration of community safety and the need to preserve the integrity of the trial process are central to any EM bail assessment and the Court's decision.

 

What is EM Bail?

Defendants charged with an offence may be remanded in custody, at large or on bail into the community, with or without conditions.

In December 2005, the Government approved a new alternative to custodial remand. This was the option of electronic monitoring as a condition of bail for approved defendants who would otherwise have been remanded in custody.

EM bail was introduced throughout the country at the end of 2006 and has been running successfully, with almost 700 of a total of nearly 2,700 applications having been granted by the end of 2009.


Who is eligible for EM Bail?

Any person remanded in custody may apply for EM bail. However, applications will be determined by the Courts on a case by case basis, following assessment and report-back by Police or other pertinent prosecuting agency, in which the requirements of the Bail Act 2000 and public safety are paramount.


How do you apply for EM Bail?

The defendant or his/her lawyer must apply to the Courts to be considered for EM bail. Application forms are available at court offices and in prison remand units.

After an application is filed at court, a copy must also be served by the defendant or counsel on the Police Prosecution Service (PPS). An EM Bail Assessor is then assigned to undertake an inquiry to inform the EM Bail report-back to the Court (through the PPS or other pertinent prosecuting agency) as to the suitability of the application.

EM Bail Assessors are part of the PPS and are located in PPS offices in each police district around the country.

In their inquiry, EM Bail Assessors check out factors relating to the proposed EM bail residence, such as cell phone coverage and distance from the nearest 24-hour police station. Assessors must also seek consent from the occupants of the proposed residence. The views of the victim(s) are also sought, and a range of other enquiries undertaken. Assessors identify the risks to community safety, to specific persons such as victims and witnesses and to the integrity of the court process that may be posed by release on bail, e.g., risk of further offending. They then evaluate whether those risks may be mitigated by electronic monitoring.

The report-back will say whether Police or the pertinent prosecuting agency consider EM bail feasible and suitable and, if so, put forward possible bail conditions. Courts then determine the outcome of the application.