Alberta Expands Electronic Monitoring to Target Repeat Offenders

Alberta is adding real-time victim alerts to its GPS monitoring program to tighten oversight of repeat offenders and strengthen public safety, the province says.

Under the expanded program announced March 25, participating victims will receive immediate alerts if an offender released on bail breaches court-ordered boundaries, enters restricted areas, or comes near their location.

The expansion builds on an electronic tracking system introduced last January, which requires offenders and accused individuals deemed a public safety to wear GPS ankle bracelets and be monitored by Alberta Correctional Services round the clock.

The Alberta government says it will invest $4.1 million from its Budget 2026 over the next three years to enhance the program across the province.

“That added awareness will give victims of crime greater confidence and help them make informed decisions about their safety,” Premier Danielle Smith said at a press conference on March 25.

Speaking alongside Smith, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said the province will introduce a victim-focused smartphone app that “creates a mobile exclusion zone around a victim” and triggers alerts when the offender’s ankle bracelet comes within a specified distance of the victim’s phone.

He said the expanded system will address “Ottawa’s broken bail system,” which he describes as “catch-and-release policies.”

“While the federal government has introduced bail reforms, it has not yet passed, and in the meantime, the impacts on their catch and release policies are being felt in communities right across Canada and more specifically, in the fields of domestic violence, and we are not going to sit idly by,” he added.

Bail Reforms

The federal Liberals’ Bill C-75, which passed into law in 2019, directs judges to focus on releasing the accused as quickly as possible and on the “least onerous conditions that are appropriate in the circumstances,” when adjudicating bail.

The federal bail system has since faced heavy criticism, including from Conservative MPs, premiers, and law enforcement officials. In 2023, premiers penned a letter to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging him to review the system. A year later in 2024, they followed up with another letter demanding reforms, citing cases in which perpetrators were found to be repeat offenders with violent criminal histories.

Under pressure from provinces, law enforcement, and Conservatives to enact reform, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-14, also known as the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, which is currently being reviewed in the Senate. The bill proposes more than 80 changes in a bid to strengthen the bail and sentencing framework to address auto theft and organized crime, and includes new reverse-onus bail provisions for repeat and violent offenders.

The federal government also recently passed Bill C-48, which created a reverse onus provision for individuals charged with a serious violent offence involving a weapon, if they have been convicted of a similar offence within the past five years.

‘Isn’t About Offender’s Rights’

Alberta’s public safety minister says the province has heard “too many stories” of repeat offenders being released only to commit new crimes soon after.

“In my time as a law enforcement officer, I saw firsthand [what] victims go through when they learned that a person who harmed them may be back in the community,” Ellis said at the March 25 press conference. “I’ve seen actual fear in the victim’s eyes, and it’s a fear that dictates where they shop, where they work, where they can even feel safe letting their children play in a park.”

He said the expansion of the electronic monitoring program will remove the “guesswork” out of public safety. “This isn’t about offender’s rights. It’s about a victim’s right to live without looking over their shoulder,” he added.

The province says the program is used alongside other supervision tools, including reporting requirements, community support, and coordination with police. It also supports courts when deciding bail or sentencing conditions.

Kim Ruse, CEO of Calgary-based advocacy group FearIsNotLove, says the addition of real-time alerts turns the tide by holding offenders accountable.

“Too often, our systems still place the burden of safety on those who are being harmed,” she said at the press conference with Smith and Ellis, adding that offenders currently face “too few mechanisms” to hold them accountable “in real time.”

“We believe that change is possible when there is accountability, support, and the right conditions,” she said.

“But we also know this—that not everyone is willing or able to change.”

Matthew Horwood and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.