It's a Small World, but I Wouldn't Want to Paint it: Learning from Denmark's Experience with Electronic Monitoring

Explaining the Consequences of Imprisonment for Union Formation and Dissolution in Denmark

“…Home confinement under electronic monitoring in Denmark is a specific type of punishment, aided by a specific type of technology and implemented in a specific way in a specific context, a way that may or may not be optimal for the United States. Even so, results from Denmark could inspire policymakers in other countries to be attentive to some of the positive aspects of the Danish implementation of electronic monitoring (e.g., Payne, ). Electronic monitoring in Denmark, just like any other correctional measure, is a tool applied in certain ways by certain people in certain contexts (DeMichele, ).…”

“…Qualitative research stresses that during electronic monitoring the offender's family members are essentially serving the sentence along with the offender and have to cope with the offender's frustrations over his or her own lack of autonomy (e.g., Payne, ). Yet the romantic partner of an offender serving a prison sentence at home under electronic monitoring may still rely on his or her partner to participate in housework, supply additional household income, and be emotionally and physically available.…”

Educational Outcomes After Serving with Electronic Monitoring: Results from a Natural Experiment

“…More than 500,000 people in the United States and Europe had been electronically monitored by 2010 (Di Tella and Schargrodsky 2013), and nearly 200,000 EM units are used in the United States each year (Payne, 2014). In times with growing prison populations, EM has been introduced in many Western countries as a substitute for imprisonment or as part of an early release program in order to reduce expenditures in the prison system (Renzema and Mayo-Wilson 2005).…”

Electronic Monitoring in Denmark and Beyond

“…The research article by Andersen and Andersen () is followed by two policy essays, by Brian K. Payne (, this issue) and Matthew DeMichele (, this issue), respectively. You will detect some common themes in these essays, which is not surprising as they have coauthored several articles together focused on electronic monitoring and attitudes toward electronic monitoring in the United States.…”

“…Both Payne () and DeMichele () also applaud the Denmark study by Andersen and Andersen () and recognize the importance of focusing on welfare dependency as opposed to recidivism. In essence, although not complete, the Denmark study takes a look into the black box of the potential relationship between electronic monitoring and recidivism by focusing on one possible mediating variable—welfare dependence or unemployment.…”