Electronic Bail

In 2005 Phil Goff and the Ministry of Justice recommended against introducing electronic bail, but Cabinet went ahead anyway.

The Ministry states the case against succintly:

“If the primary purpose of EM (electronic monitoring) is to reduce inmate numbers, eligibility must be targeted to those who would otherwise be remanded in custody.

However, defendants remanded in custody are more likely to have characteristics or criminal histories that would make them unsuitable for release on bail with EM.”