SF Sheriff gets green light to resume using ankle monitors

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Sheriff Paul Miyamoto announced Monday that the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office will resume using electronic ankle monitors for some accused criminals who are out of custody awaiting trials.

The sheriff recently received a green light from U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit judges to utilize ankle monitors for defendants in the Pre-Trial Electronic Monitoring (PTEM) program. Judges also ruled in favor for allowing searches without warrants for defendants in the PTEM program.

Miyamoto and the City Attorney’s Office fought to uphold the legality of PTEM after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of three defendants charged with crimes. In 2022, the three defendants filed a lawsuit claiming that PTEM policies violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

“This new decision sets a much-needed precedent for protection of public safety,” Miyamoto said Monday. “It allows the SFSO to adhere to its commitment to keep the public, crime
victims, and deputies safe, while allowing this critical alternative to incarceration. The PTEM
Program affords defendants an opportunity to remain in the community pending the outcome of their criminal matters, and it provides Superior Court judges with an important tool to utilize
when making a decision regarding a defendant’s release from County Jail.”

SFSO PTEM is an intensive supervision program for criminal defendants who would not otherwise be released from custody pretrial by the Superior Court. San Francisco Superior Court judges decide which defendants are enrolled as a condition of their release from custody.

“In order to protect public safety, the Sheriff’s Office must be able to set the rules for this
program it oversees and administers for pretrial release from custody of criminal defendants
often facing violent felony charges,” said City Attorney David Chiu.

Mayor Daniel Lurie said, “This is about protecting families from violence. It’s about making sure suspecting drug dealers can’t go back out and continue to commit crimes while they await trial.”