House arrest (also called home confinement) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted and may require prior approval.
Since the introduction of electronic tagging, a person under house arrest may be monitored electronically, and their movements are typically tracked. House arrest is also used in some cases for individuals convicted of minor offenses. In certain situations, such as in authoritarian regimes, house arrest may be used to restrict the freedom of political dissidents against political governments, sometimes limiting or monitoring their communication with the outside world. If electronic communication is allowed, conversations may be monitored. There is much criticism of the effectiveness of house arrest.
History
Authorities have imposed sentences of home confinement, as an alternative to prison, as far back as the 17th century. Galileo was confined to his home following his second trial in 1633. Authorities often used house arrest to confine political leaders who were deposed in a coup d'état, but this method was not widely used to confine numerous common criminals. Over time, though, house arrest became more popular, especially as prisons and jails became overcrowded and expensive.
However, this method didn't become a widely used alternative to imprisonment in the United States and other Western countries until the 20th century, after it was introduced in the U.S. in 1984. Around this time, newly designed electronic monitoring devices made it more affordable and easier for corrections authorities to manage. Although Boston was using house arrest for a variety of arrangements, the first-ever court sentence of house arrest with an electronic bracelet was in 1983.
House arrest and electronic monitoring programs are among the most widely used alternatives to incarceration. It has been estimated that in 2005 roughly 20% of community-based supervision involved the use of electronic monitoring.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the use of house arrest as well. To stop the spread of the virus in crowded prisons, many governments allowed people to serve their sentences at home instead. This was mostly done for non-violent offenders or people close to finishing their prison terms.
Details
Home detention is an alternative to imprisonment; its goals are both to reduce recidivism and decrease the number of prisoners, thereby saving money for states and other jurisdictions. It is a corrective to mandatory sentencing laws that greatly increased the incarceration rates in the United States.Levinson, David. (2002). Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment: Volumes I-IV. SAGE Publications. p. 859. It allows eligible offenders to retain or seek employment, maintain family relationships and responsibilities, and attend rehabilitative programs that contribute toward addressing the causes of their offending.
The terms of house arrest can differ, but most programs allow employed offenders to continue to work, and confine them to their residence only during non-working hours. Offenders are commonly allowed to leave their home for specific purposes; examples can include visits to the probation officer or police station, religious services, education, attorney visits, court appearances, and medical appointments.Spohn, Cassia. (2008). How Do Judges Decide?: The Search for Fairness and Justice in Punishment. SAGE Publications Inc. p. 52. Many programs also allow the convict to leave their residence during regular, pre-approved times in order to carry out general household errands, such as food shopping and laundry. Offenders may have to respond to communications from a higher authority to verify that they are at home when required to be. Exceptions are often made to allow visitors to visit the offender.Mele, Christopher. (2005). Civil Penalties, Social Consequences. Routledge. p. 139.
The types of house arrest vary in severity according to the requirements of the court order. A curfew may restrict an offender to their house at certain times, usually during hours of darkness. "Home confinement" or detention requires an offender to remain at home at all times, apart from the above-mentioned exceptions.
The most serious level of house arrest is "home incarceration", under which an offender is restricted to their residence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except for court-approved treatment programs, court appearances, and medical appointments.
In some exceptional cases, it is possible for a person to be placed under house arrest without trial or legal representation, and subject to restrictions on their associates.Jupp, James; Nieuwenhuysen, John; Dawson, Emma. (2007). Social Cohesion in Australia. Cambridge University Press. p. 183. In some countries, this type of detention without trial has been criticized for breaching the offender's human right to a fair trial."Q&A: Terrorism laws". BBC News Online. July 3, 2006 In countries with authoritarian systems of government, the government may use such measures to stifle dissent.
Using technology for enforcement In some countries, house arrest is enforced through the use of technology products or services. One method is an electronic sensor locked around the offender's ankle (technically called an ankle monitor, also referred to as a tether). The electronic sensor transmits an RF signal to a base handset. The base handset is connected to a police station or for-profit monitoring service.
If the offender goes too far from their home, the violation is recorded, and the police will be notified. To discourage tampering, many ankle monitors detect attempted removal. The monitoring service is often contracted out to private companies, which assign employees to electronically monitor many convicts simultaneously. If a violation occurs the unit signals the officer or officer in charge immediately, depending on the severity of the violation. The officer will either call or verify the participant's whereabouts.http://www.digitaltechnologies-2000.com/?page_id=459 The monitoring service notifies a convict's probation officer. The electronic surveillance together with frequent contact with their probation officer and checks by the security guards provides for a secure environment.
Another method of ensuring house arrest compliance is achieved through the use of automated calling services that require no human contact to check on the offender. Random calls are made to the residence. The respondent's answer is recorded and compared automatically to the offender's voice pattern. Authorities are notified only if the call is not answered or if the recorded answer does not match the offender's voice pattern.
Electronic monitoring is considered a highly economical alternative to the cost of imprisoning offenders. In many states or jurisdictions, the convict is often required to pay for the monitoring as part of his or her sentence. However, it's important to recognize that "compared with non-custodial sanctions, incarceration appears to have a null or mildly criminogenic effect on future criminal behavior." This means that while house arrest can be a better option than prison, its effectiveness in preventing reoffending prisoners can vary from person to person.
Notable instances
Algeria Ahmed Ben Bella, former president of Algeria, deposed by Houari Boumédiènne in 1965. He was held under house arrest before being exiled in 1980.
Argentina Jorge Videla, former dictator of Argentina (was held by house arrest only for a period) Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, former President of Argentina
Australia Derryn Hinch, New Zealand media personality based in Melbourne, Australia; he was placed under house arrest for five months for breaching gag orders by naming two sex offenders.
Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, former President of Brazil
Myanmar (Burma) Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and leader of her country's pro-democracy movement, was punished with house arrest for most of the period from July 1989 to November 2010. After being released from her initial confinement after six years in 1995, she was convicted again and imprisoned in 2000. Two years later, she was again released. She was convicted and jailed for the third time under house arrest for her criticism of the government following the infamous Depayin Massacre in 2003. After her 14th year of prison, she was released to her dilapidated home in Rangoonhe. She had to serve another 18 months in prison, convicted by a Burmese regional court in August 2009 after an American swam across Inya Lake to her house. The United Nations has declared all of her periods under house arrest as arbitrary and unjust. She was released on 13 November 2010. On 1 Feb 2021, she was deposed in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état and detained, and has since at times been under house arrest and at times in conventional detention. Ne Win, former military commander of Burma from 1962. He was believed to be behind the coup d'état of 1988 which officially deposed him. Following his son-in-law's effort to regain power, Ne Win was sentenced to house arrest in 2001, serving until he died in December 2002.
Cambodia Pol Pot, former premier of Cambodia. He was placed under house arrest in 1998 by Ta Mok, a rival Khmer Rouge leader.
Chile On January 5, 2005, former dictator Augusto Pinochet was placed under house arrest by orders of the Supreme Court of Chile.
People's Republic of China (PRC) The People's Republic of China continues to use soft detention, a traditional form of house arrest used by the Chinese Empire. Zhao Ziyang, purged General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, was put under house arrest for the last 16 years of his life after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The Chinese Communist Party's Central Office approved all of his movements outside his home; he was restricted to quiet travel to different places inside China and traveling to play golf. Jiang Yanyong, physician who revealed SARS incident in China in 2003. He was put under house arrest after requesting the government to investigate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, an alleged reincarnation or Tulku of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism was recognized by the present Dalai Lama. The Chinese took him into custody and sentenced him to house arrest. Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia.
Republic of China (ROC) Zhang Xueliang, ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to be kept under house arrest after the Xi'an Incident in 1936. Even after the Nationalists' retreat to Taiwan, he remained in house arrest until Chiang Ching-kuo's death in 1988.
Egypt Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), Iraqi scientist working in Egypt. In 1011, he feigned madness in fear of angering the Egyptian caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. He was kept under house arrest until the caliph's death in 1021. Mohamed Naguib, former president of Egypt. He led a military coup in 1953 and deposed the former King Farouk. He was deposed by Gamal Nasser in 1954 and placed under house arrest.
Hawaii The last Hawaiian queen Liliuokalani persuaded leaders of the Republic of Hawaii to commute her prison sentence to house arrest. She was confined to an upstairs bedroom of Iolani Palace until she was released in 1896.
Hong Kong The pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was granted bail by High Court of Hong Kong pending trial for charges under the Hong Kong national security law. The conditions for his bail included a term prohibiting Lai from leaving his residence except going to police station and court. It implied that Lai was put under a de facto house arrest.
Indonesia Sukarno, first president of Indonesia. He was deposed in 1967 by General Suharto (see: Transition to the New Order).