Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in San Francisco

By Alissa Skog and Johanna Lacoe

Pretrial electronic monitoring (pretrial EM) is a digital surveillance program that tracks the location and movements of people released to the community while they await the resolution of their criminal case. A locked plastic bracelet is attached to the person’s ankle, which includes a GPS tracking device that notifies the Sheriff’s Office if the person is not complying with the terms of their release. This report covers the characteristics and outcomes of people released by the courts to pretrial EM in San Francisco between 2018 and 2021. During this period, two significant events impacted pretrial detention. First, the In Re Humphrey decision required judges in San Francisco to consider the ability to pay when setting bail and to select the least restrictive non-monetary release condition. Second, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers issued public health directives limiting the jail population in San Francisco. This report is not an evaluation or causal analysis of the impact of pretrial EM. Rather, this report provides policymakers with data and insights to aid decisions about pretrial EM in San Francisco. This analysis reveals: • The use of pretrial EM increased more than twenty-fold between 2017 and 2021. San Francisco rarely used pretrial EM before 2018, averaging 75 cases per year. In 2018, more than 550 cases were released to pretrial EM and the annual caseload increased to more than 1,650 in 2021. • More than one-third of people on pretrial EM are unhoused/unstably housed. • More than 65% of people on pretrial EM who were assessed with a standardized pretrial risk assessment tool were rated at the greatest risk of new arrest or failure to appear in court. • Eighty-five percent of people on pretrial EM are booked on felony charges. The median number of prior San Francisco County Jail bookings is five. • Most people on pretrial EM are terminated prematurely. Of those who fail to comply with pretrial EM rules, 60% are returned to custody within one week of termination and 76% are returned within two months. • Pretrial EM termination rates are higher for people who are unhoused/ unstably housed. Nearly 80% of people who are unhoused/unstably housed on pretrial EM fail to complete the program, compared to approximately 50% of people who are housed. • Terminations from pretrial EM often happen in the first 2 weeks of the program. Individuals who terminate have a median number of days on pretrial EM of 15 days.  

Los Angeles: California Policy Lab, 2022. 41p.