Electronically monitored home detention: why the ankle monitor remains rare in pre-trial custody
René Benko is to serve pre-trial custody via ankle monitor – currently only one of 1,863 pre-trial detainees across Austria wears one. The hurdles are high.
Benko to receive ankle monitor – an extremely rare instrument in Austria
As reported by Kleine Zeitung, Signa founder René Benko is to be allowed to serve his pre-trial custody in electronically monitored home detention. For comparison: currently, only a single one of a total of 1,863 people in pre-trial custody across Austria wears an ankle monitor. According to the justice ministry, the decision lies with the courts.
The legal requirements are narrowly defined. An ankle monitor in pre-trial custody is generally only granted if flight risk is the sole grounds for detention – but not in cases of risk of evidence tampering or obstruction of justice, as was originally alleged against Benko. In addition, the accused must be living in orderly circumstances and be able to demonstrate a place of residence within Austria. "These requirements are often not met in practice either," explained a ministry spokesperson to the APA. In Benko's case, the granted home detention is associated with contact bans as conditions.
Since 2010, the ankle monitor has been used in Austria as an alternative to conventional custody – though it sometimes conveys a deceptive impression of freedom. Dina Nachbaur from the organisation Neustart emphasised in an earlier APA interview that those affected do indeed perceive electronically monitored home detention as a deprivation of liberty. Even within one's own four walls, the radius of movement is clearly defined: according to Nachbaur, even someone living in a villa with a pool is only permitted to stay in authorised rooms – typically bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom and toilet.
The strict daily structure is particularly burdensome. The daily schedule is worked out meticulously together with a supervisor; even the smallest deviations must be reported immediately to the monitoring centre by telephone. The centre continuously monitors the whereabouts via the ankle monitor. "You have to always be punctual, stick to this timetable precisely," said Nachbaur. "You always live with the clock." It hangs like a "Sword of Damocles" over those affected.
Source: Kleine Zeitung