The question for the Victorian Law Reform Commission is whether such a move would curb the behaviour of the alleged offender rather than forcing victims to curb theirs.
Politicians like to appear tough on crime in election years. But Victoria’s move to require youth offenders to wear electronic monitoring devices may not have a real impact.
Electronically monitoring migrants and refugees may seem like a humane alternative to detention, but it’s rife with problems and still criminalizes would-be immigrants.
Kathy Laster, Victoria University and Ryan Kornhauser, Victoria University
The days of prison, an 18th-century industrial institution, as the justice system’s dominant form of punishment may be numbered. Electronic monitoring of offenders is one promising alternative.