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Sponsor touts tamper-resistant electronic monitors as tool for supervised release
Summary
A sponsor described a bill to allow tamper‑resistant electronic monitoring for people on less‑restrictive release, emphasizing public safety and potential exculpatory data for attorneys; no formal action recorded in the hearing excerpt.
A sponsor told the House Community Safety Committee that a bill under consideration would authorize courts to use tamper‑resistant electronic monitoring to define and enforce geographic limits for people released to less‑restrictive alternatives.
The sponsor said the devices could record where a person is allowed to be and where they are not, helping prove compliance with conditions of release and potentially producing data attorneys could use to show a client did not violate conditions. "It's documenting what they're doing and what they're not doing and where they are and where they're not," the sponsor said.
The sponsor framed the measure as a public‑safety tool that could also provide exculpatory evidence for defense attorneys. They described discussions with an Office of Public Defense representative and other stakeholders and said the technology is now available for deployment in Washington state.
The sponsor also noted the possibility of victim notification being imposed by courts and recalled prior debate on similar measures years earlier. No formal vote or committee action on the bill appears in the provided transcript excerpt.
