When you see someone with an ankle monitoring bracelet, it’s pretty obvious that person has done something he shouldn’t have. Getting in trouble with the law for something that doesn’t make you a dangerous criminal can cause you to be fitted with one of these ankle bracelets. They’re used to track your movements and find out where you are and where you’re going. If you’re under house arrest, an ankle bracelet can alert the authorities if you leave your home. For other types of monitoring, the authorities can tell where you are and can see if you go where you’re not supposed to.
The bracelets use radio frequencies to relay information and to keep track of where the bracelet is located. Because it’s attached so securely to the ankle, there is little chance that a person with one of these bracelets will be able to remove it. In the past people have managed to remove them, but that’s not a common occurrence. The bracelets continue to get better, too, so they track more clearly and they’re much more difficult to take off the ankle without the proper tools – which only belong to law enforcement professionals. Violating the terms of your release (which include the bracelet) can mean that you’ll stay in jail until your hearing or trial.
Of course, there are always offenses for which this kind of radio frequency tracking bracelet is not acceptable. Dangerous or violent offenders generally can’t get out of jail by agreeing to wear one, because they’re too high of a risk for society. It’s up to law enforcement whether a person can wear a tracking device until their hearing or trial date, or whether they have to stay in jail. Probation is another use for these bracelets, which are used to keep people monitored closely until such time as their probation is lifted.