The impact of electronic monitoring compared to prison sentence: an experience research

The question concerning the impact of imprisonment on the convict has fostered criminological research and the formulation of theories and models. Much research has been conducted with the aim to analyze the impact of imprisonment on the convicts. In recent years, several alternatives to imprisonment were developed. One of them, electronic monitoring (EM), has become an important penal policy instrument. Research on the impact of those alternatives in general and EM in particular is in an early stage of development. Little is known about the similarities of EM and the prison sentence regarding their impact. This research is trying to fill this gap by examining the impact of EM on the convicts and their environment compared to imprisonment through experience research. We are doing a literature review and in-depth interviews with convicts and their environment. At the time of ESC meeting, we will present and discuss the provisional results of some of our first interviews.

Publication year:2011