Electronic monitoring in the pre-trial phase in England and Wales: challenges for human rights

• In Event: Pre-trial detention and bail

Abstract

Over a third of wearers of electronic monitoring devices in England and Wales are defendants awaiting trial or sentence (MoJ, 2024). According to European Convention on Human Rights and other international agreements, their status means that they should be treated differently to sentenced individuals. The purposes of pre-trial EM differ from those post-conviction and should not relate to punishment or rehabilitation. Instead, EM should be used as an alternative to pre-trial detention and to meet the concerns of courts set out in the Bail Act 1976, which relate to inter alia risks of absconding, further offending and interfering with the administration of justice. This is not the case in practice. The use of pre-trial EM evolved rather than being planned and most of the ways in which it operates mirror those used post-conviction or are stricter. This paper examines policies and practices of using EM during the pre-trial stage, highlighting the discrepancies with human rights standards. It will argue for a specific policy relating to pre-trial EM which embeds the fundamental human rights principle of the presumption of innocence.

Author

• Anthea Hucklesby, University of Birmingham