D.05.01 Electronic Monitoring of Prisoners on Bail

Background

Bail with electronic monitoring (“EM-Bail”) is an alternative to pre-trial remand in custody whereby a defendant is released on bail to an approved place of residence by the Court with special conditions including electronic monitoring and management by Police and security company staff.
EM-Bail allows persons on remand to remain in their home environment, and possibly for some to continue employment, while still being intensively monitored through their electronic anklet.
All prisoners in custody on remand are eligible to apply to the Court for EM-Bail provided certain conditions are met. The Police have appointed a number of EM-Bail Assessors who will be responsible for providing reports to the Court on the applicants’ suitability.
The time spent by a prisoner EM-Bail will not count as time served against any sentence of imprisonment they may eventually receive.

Performance Standard

The following Standards and Procedures have been developed in consultation with the NZ Police to facilitate the electronic monitoring of prisoners on bail process:

Each receiving prison has a nominated contact person for EM-Bail and this person will be the first point of contact for Police EM-Bail Assessors.
The contact people will have attended or are about to attend briefings organised by the Police in relation to the EM-Bail concept.

Providing Information to Prisoners about EM-Bail

Brochures and information on bail and legal aid produced by other agencies are to be available to remand or accused prisoners.
As part of the induction process remand prisoners (pre trial) are to be advised that EM-Bail is available, and if they are interested in applying are to be given a copy of the attached Police information sheet.

Process for Providing Information to the Police about Prisoners Who Apply for EM-Bail

When applying to the Court for EM-Bail prisoners give consent for the Department of Corrections to release certain information to the Police to enable them to assess suitability for electronic monitoring on bail and considering bail conditions.
When an application is made prisoners consent to the release of the following information relating to the time in custody on current charges:
- any incident or misconduct reports relating to the prisoner
- information or documents on the prisoner’s current conditions or illnesses or diseases which require acute, long-term or regular medical care or treatment, and
- assessment documents that relate to the prisoner’s likelihood of self harm or harm to others, including any risk management plans, and whether the prisoner has been segregated under the Corrections Act 2004.
The Police Assessor will request the information from the prison using a template form (Example of Police Assessors Request Form (D.05.01.F1)). The Assessor will ensure a copy of the prisoner’s authorisation to release the information is included.
The nominated Prison Service contact person is responsible for collating the information requested by the Police Assessor.
There are two forms allowing custodial and health information to be provided separately by fax to Police Assessors. As the Police are preparing a report for the court this information must be provided promptly using PS Response to Police Assessor’s Request for Information (D.05.01.F2).
The Prison Manager (or delegated officer) is required to endorse PS Response to Police Assessor’s Request for Information (D.05.01.F2) with their signature. By placing their signature on this form the Prison Manager (or delegated officer) is only confirming the attached information relates to the prisoner, and is relevant to the request made by the Police, however the Prison Manager (or delegated officer) is not verifying the accuracy of the attached information.