Calls for stricter oversight in juvenile electronic monitoring -

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The owner of one of the largest electronic monitoring companies in Louisiana is calling for more to be done to ensure they are properly used to address juvenile crime.

ASAP monitors more than 300 adult offenders who have been released from jail using electronic monitors, but all are adults.

“I think with the limited space we have, if we use them wisely, we can make sure that the right juveniles are in jail and the right person is out of jail,” said Matt Dennis, with ASAP.

ASAP has stayed away from the juvenile justice system because they say judges frequently show too much leniency and are not held accountable due to juvenile justice secrecy laws.

“How are you going to solve it in juvenile court? Until you can see what’s happening, you’re not. That’s our biggest problem right now,” said Dennis.

Dennis calls on the New Orleans City Council to adopt new standards similar to those implemented in Baton Rouge.

“If you have a non-responsive juvenile court, no matter who is watching them, it’s useless,” he said.

If juveniles are allowed to do things like cut off electronic monitors with no repercussions, Dennis says they can do more harm than good.

“If you use ankle monitors wrong, you create a worse environment and put them in a program that says ‘this will stop you,’ and then it doesn’t. It’s a disaster,” Dennis said.

Electronic monitors prove critical in solving crime in New Orleans

This isn’t the first time ASAP release has called for more accountability in the juvenile justice system when it comes to electronic monitoring. They appealed to the City Council earlier this year.

The Metropolitan Crime Commission says electronic monitoring can be a useful tool to deal with offenders and limited jail space.

“I think the Juvenile Justice Center has under 40 beds and remains full. That means for everybody that goes on one, somebody needs to come out,” said Rafael Goyeneche, with the MCC

Goyeneche says the program needs to be properly supervised if it is to serve as a deterrent to offenders who are being given a second chance outside of a detention facility.

Dennis says until juvenile judges properly enforce rules governing the use of electronic monitors, his company’s involvement will be limited.

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