The arrest of Jerroy Johnson in connection with the killing of a Jefferson Parish corrections deputy has left many unanswered questions. Most glaringly, Johnson was actually wearing an ankle monitor when he allegedly committed the crime.
Matt Dennis, CEO of ASAP Monitoring (a local ankle monitoring company not affiliated with Orleans Parish Prison), spoke to WWL’s Tommy Tucker about issues that plague the current system.
“There is a constitutional protection that allows us to be out of jail pre-trial. That’s based on the understanding of being innocent until proven guilty,” emphasized Dennis. However, he acknowledges that there are a litany of issues with how the ankle monitoring system is actually implemented. Those issues, Dennis says, are putting the public at risk.
Dennis pointed out that New Orleans actually shrunk the footprint size of its jail when building the new facility.
“It’s not a matter of if we want to (use ankle monitors) or not. We have no choice. With the number of violent crimes committed in a year, you would fill the jail in six months, just with violent crimes,” added Dennis.
“With the number of murders, it would take a couple of years to fill the jail to capacity, but it would be full forever,” he noted. “So, you need extra space, and that space comes in the form of a digital jail (regarding the ankle monitors),” Dennis went on to say.
According to Dennis, real-time monitoring of ankle monitors is not enough by itself. Real-time enforcement is of utmost importance. “The idea that you could use an ankle monitor that doesn’t have real-time monitoring is like saying you should switch out your cell phone for a house phone. It’s outdated technology,” he told Tommy Tucker.
Dennis emphasized that having a database where real-time monitoring can be enforced is what's needed, and something his company offers.
