Ankle monitor program expanding to give victims real-time alerts when offenders nearby

Data from ankle monitors will soon be used to let previous victims know when the wearer is getting too close. CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg reports.

The province’s electronic ankle monitoring program is expanding to give victims real-time alerts when their safety is at risk.

The program enforces court-ordered inclusion and exclusion zones, to help keep offenders away from victims’ homes, workplaces and more.

“I’ve seen actual fear in the victim’s eyes, and it’s a fear that dictates where they shop, where they work, where they can even feel safe letting their children play in a park. And that fear doesn’t just go away. It becomes a cage,” said public safety and emergency services minister Mike Ellis.

The province is spending $4.1 million over three years to activate the new victim notifications capability and expand the program. The money will be used for staffing, 24/7 operation and expansion for regular demand, the province said.

“Electronic monitoring was introduced to address serious gaps in the federal bail system, gaps that have allowed repeat and high-risk offenders back into communities without sufficient oversight,” Premier Danielle Smith said on Wednesday.

“These instances have occurred far too often, and frankly, Albertans have had enough.”

The ankle bracelet monitoring program was first announced in 2024. Since then, the courts have imposed them 550 times and more than 300 people are currently monitored, according to Smith.

Offenders are required to wear a GPS tracking device monitored by Alberta Correctional Services.

People will be able to use a smartphone app that works directly with the ankle bracelets. If an offender crosses a certain proximity, victims will receive an alert on their phone, giving them time to find safety and call for help.

Ellis says the program will especially help people in domestic abuse situations. Some of the money announced will go towards purchasing more ankle monitors if needed.

“If the courts decide they need more, then I’ll be putting more pressure on Mike (Ellis) to buy more,” Smith said.

‘Important step in systemic change’

The new expanded ankle monitoring program is an “important step” in not putting the onus on a victim to keep themselves safe, said Marla Poelzer, executive director of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation.

Poelzer says the app will give survivors of domestic abuse more safety and freedom when it comes to planning their routines and whereabouts.

“When you’re in a relationship, they tend to know your day-to-day interactions, right? So they kind of know your routine, definitely if you are working or if children are in school. I mean, they’re going to know where you are at any given time,” she said.

Kim Ruse, CEO of FearIsNotLove in Calgary says the funding will make positive changes.

“(It’s) really continuing to centre the voices of survivors who are victims of crime, and not putting the onus on a survivor or a victim to keeping themselves safe. So I think it’s a really important step in systemic change,” she said.

Ellis says the new notification technology will be up and running later this year.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg