Surveillance 24/7
Electronic home monitoring is similar in nature to house arrest. As a participant of the electronic home monitoring program, you will be required to wear an ankle bracelet that tracks your location 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – whether you’re asleep, showering, at work, or at church. The time you will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device may be equal to the length of your jail sentence or longer.
Strict Schedules
As a participant of the electronic home monitoring program, you must also adhere to a strict schedule. You are typically allowed a few hours each week for personal time, which means that you will be permitted to attend medical appointments, court appearances, or AA meetings apart from going to school or work. You must, however, submit proper documentation to your program manager or parole officer as proof that you attended that particular appointment or meeting.
Daily Fees
With electronic home monitoring, there is a daily fee to be paid on a weekly basis. In Hennepin County, for instance, this fee is $16 per day. In Olmsted County, the fee is $20 per day. If you are being charged with a 2nd degree DWI in Minnesota, then you may be facing 30 days in custody and 60 days on electronic home monitoring. This means that you’ll be paying more than $900 in fees EHM fees over the course of those 60 days. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of this fee until they are already enrolled in the program.
Regular Check-Ins
Under the EHM program, you will be required to check in with your program manager or parole officer on a weekly basis. All administrative tasks will be done during your weekly check-ins, such as making payments, discussing upcoming schedules, and submitting documentation of your activities during the previous week.
Employment Checks
If you are employed, expect that someone from the program will contact your employer in order to verify your employment. You will likely need to have a daily log sheet signed by your manager or an HR representative in order to prove that you were indeed at work at the said date and time.