How can I get put on House Arrest in Wisconsin?

House arrest, otherwise known as electronic monitoring, is available to individuals who have been sentenced to the county jail. Whether or not you are placed on house arrest is up to the sheriff and the deputies who run the county jail. Under Wis. Stat § 302.425 the legislature gave the power to place someone on home detention to the local sheriff. A judge can only sentence you to jail. A judge cannot sentence you to home detention and a judge cannot prohibit you from being placed on home detention. However, there are things that you can do to help your chances.

Counties that have a home detention program in place will have certain restrictions that may prohibit someone from taking advantage of the program. For example, in Dane County, an individual sentenced to jail on a third offense OWI as part of the OWI treatment court program will not be placed on electronic monitoring. Similarly, in Jefferson County, it is common for the jail to only allow house arrest after half of a jail sentence is served.  An individual who has caused problems during a previous jail sentence is also likely to be denied the privilege of house arrest.

Qualifications to be placed on Electronic Monitoring

There is never a guarantee that anyone will be placed on electronic monitoring, but there are a few things that are necessary before you would generally qualify. First, you must be sentenced to jail. House arrest is not available or authorized for a prison sentence. Second, you must live in the county where you are to serve your jail sentence. If you live in Dane County and have been sentenced in Rock County, you have two options. Serve your sentence without house arrest in Rock County, or have your jail sentence transferred to Dane County. Transferring a jail sentence is usually not difficult. However, it does require the judges approval as well as both the county jail you are transferring from and the jail you hope to transfer to. Finally, you must have the ability to pay for the electronic monitoring. House arrest can cost you anywhere from $12 to $20 per day.

What if my county does not have house arrest?

Not every county in Wisconsin has an electronic monitoring program. Unfortunately, many of these counties will not let you transfer to a different county in order to take advantage of that county’s program. More often than not, you will be stuck serving your jail sentence in the jail, not on house arrest.