To reduce the expense to taxpayers, the Catawba County Board of Commissioners authorized the Sheriff to implement the Electronic Monitoring System in 1990. Under certain conditions, judges can sentence low escape risk individuals to the Electronic Monitoring System. This system allows the Sheriff's Office Electronic Monitoring Officer to place on the inmate an electronic device that uses an ankle bracelet to transmit a signal via a telephone line to the security monitoring service. Notification is made to the Sheriff's Office of an alarm condition prompting a response from the In House Arrest Officer.

Electronic Monitoring:

• Allows persons arrested for non-payment of child support to remain out of jail, work and make the support payments
• The participant pays the equipment fee of $42 per week
• The cost to house an inmate in jail is $455 per week