This is an electronic control program implemented in 1997 in the province of Buenos Aires. The country was a pioneer in Latin America in the use of this technology.
As an alternative to prisons, which suffer from overcrowding and precarious conditions, the program allows offenders to remain detained in their homes, being monitored by means of an anklet that transmits a signal to a receiver installed in the offender’s home.
The receiver sends the signal to the operator via a telephone line and, if this signal is interrupted or an infraction is detected, or if the offender’s vital signs are not detected, the prison service is activated, and a patrol is sent to the corresponding home.
The program was relatively small, with capacity to serve up to 300 inmates simultaneously. Initially, anklets were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, only to the elderly and terminally ill, to allow them to spend their last days with their families and under house arrest. Eventually, all new entries into the program were converted to pretrial detention for people awaiting a final sentence and assigned to any type of crime, including rape or murder.