Ankle bracelets keep track of more than 1000 criminals in South Australia but there are concerns the devices aren’t doing their job to protect the community.
There are 1127 people in the state subject to electronic tracking but there have been 40 breaches this year involving offenders either tampering with a bracelet or trying to remove it.
“If home detention is going to be used as a way of managing those who have broken the law, we need to make sure it is as tight as it can be,” opposition spokesman Sam Telfer said.
There are also claims staff levels could be leaving them unchecked.
Up to four corrections staff are rostered during the day made up of both mobile and stationary crews.
Three people are rostered on overnight however the crew is not mobile and South Australia Police (SAPOL) are often asked to respond instead.
Those calls for help happen about twice a week.
“It makes the courts look like suckers,” former director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras said.
“It makes the Department of Correctional Services look like suckers and it may put people at risk.”
While Department for Correctional Services chief executive David Brown would not confirm staffing levels, he said police step in when there is a threat to the public.
“Responding to a breach that places a risk to community safety is a response that ordinary comes from SAPOL,” Brown said.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the systems in place have been around for “a very long time”.
As for whether or not it needs to be overhauled, Malinauskas appeared open to a review.
“We always want to make sure that when it comes to community safety no stone is being left unturned,” he said.
The department believes the system is doing its job at all times.
