People who break the law but aren’t considered dangerous enough to keep in jail are often put under what’s called ‘house arrest.’ They have a bracelet placed on their ankle, and it gives off a radio frequency which is monitored. There is a set area in which they can move. If they go outside of that area without prior permission, the proper authorities will be alerted. It’s important that these people take their house arrest seriously, because even a small infraction could land them in jail. If that happens they may have to wait until their court date to find out what happens next. They’ll spend their time until that date in jail, instead of in the comfort of their own home.
Most people who have the tracking bracelet placed on their ankle won’t try to get away with abusing the privilege of staying out of jail, but some of them will. People have even managed to saw the bracelet off or otherwise remove it, but this isn’t very common. Modern bracelets are often able to send a signal if they’re being tampered with, which is something that the older tracking bracelets weren’t able to do. These bracelets are a great way to help law enforcement keep track of people without overcrowding the jails.
Another way that these bracelets are used is to make sure that a person doesn’t go to a place where he’s not supposed to be. This can be used to keep a person away from places that sell alcohol, away from a person who has a restraining order against him, or out of a particular building or area of town. How the bracelet is programmed will affect what the person wearing it is allowed to do. A tracking bracelet can be used if law enforcement deems that to be the best method of control for the offender.