Orleans DA, watchdog call for real-time monitoring of juvenile offender ankle monitors

New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams is calling for city and court leaders to begin real-time tracking of juvenile offenders' electronic monitors. That call comes after a teenager who was fitted with one of those ankle monitors, Jvoine Elow, Jr., was shot and killed last week.

It's the second time in 2024 that a teen offender wearing an untracked ankle monitor was involved in a homicide. In June, a teen offender on a conditional release allegedly shot and killed a French Quarter tour guide.

In a statement issued Monday night, Williams called on court and city leaders to fix the problems in the juvenile offender monitoring system.

“Obviously there are no guarantees. However, if a judge, hearing officer or penal institution orders placement of an electronic monitoring device on a young person, that order should include real-time monitoring to immediately identify and alert of any curfew or location violations," Williams said. This real-time monitoring would cause the juvenile to be quickly picked up and detained when a violation occurs, possibly preventing loss of life. The disciplined use of electronic monitoring technology with real-time tracking can not only interrupt juvenile criminal activity, but also play a vital role in protecting juveniles as well as the public at large."

Williams continued, saying that failing to implement live monitoring for juvenile offenders could lead to more cases like Elow's.

"Live monitoring is especially critical for an electronic monitoring program aimed at juveniles, given that juveniles are naturally more impulsive and willing to test boundaries," Williams said. "They need to know that someone will notice and respond promptly if they deviate from what’s expected. Without that accountability, they’re essentially positioned to fail, and in some cases, this can be very dangerous.”

Metropolitan Crime Commission chairman Rafael Goyaneche is echoing the call made late Monday night by New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams.

"Those monitors have to be monitored on a real time basis," Goyaneche said. "What we're dealing with here is a prime example of a technology that works that's not properly being utilized on the juvenile side."

Goyaneche says any curfews or home arrest restrictions imposed on juvenile offenders are worthless unless the electronic monitors provide real-time tracking. He notes that the contract for those electronic monitoring systems is awarded by the city of New Orleans, putting the onus on the mayor and the city council to fix the problem.

"This isn't the judges' fault," Goyaneche said. "(The mayor and the council) need to make sure the monitoring company is complying with the state law and doing real-time monitoring. It's not the court's responsibility to do real-time monitoring. It is the company that is awarded the contract to  put the monitors on the juvenile offenders."

While the details of Elow's conditional release are not known, Goyaneche says something like this likely would not have happened if he were an adult. That's because, Goyaneche says, adult offenders' ankle monitors are tracked in real time, allowing authorities to arrest immediately someone who violates their court order.