Auto theft ankle-bracelet program extended

The Manitoba government is extending a pilot project that uses electronic ankle bracelets to monitor high-risk auto thieves.

The program is a key part of an auto-theft reduction strategy responsible for a 78 per cent drop in auto theft in Manitoba since its peak in 2004, attorney general Andrew Swan stated Friday, announcing a one-year extension.

The Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy (WATSS), introduced in 2005, combines the efforts of police, probation officers, prosecutors and MPI to crack down on a subculture of city teens who habitually steal cars and drive them dangerously.

The ankle bracelet portion of the program was added in 2008. Since then, a total of 57 of the highest-risk — Level 4 — auto thieves have been outfitted with the devices.

Electronic monitoring helps authorities quickly locate and deal with offenders who breach their court-ordered conditions, Swan said.

The anklets send out a signal every three minutes that is tracked by satellite and relayed to a monitoring station in Georgia.

If the bracelet is tampered with or the offender leaves a specified zone of movement, officials and police are notified by phone.

However, it has not been without its problems.

In April 2010, the province said statistics showed nearly 60 per cent of young offenders ordered to wear one simply took it off, forcing police to hunt them down and rearrest them.