HOUSTON — Texas is seeing a dramatic reduction in the number of ankle monitor violations thanks to a new law passed last year.
SB 1004 was pushed through by state Senator Joan Huffman. The law makes it a crime for offenders to cut or tamper with their ankle monitor.
The law went on the books in September of 2023. Since then, the state's seen nearly a 50% drop in violations.
Tampering with your ankle monitor used to be only an administrative violation. The law now makes it a criminal act. It's not a state jail felony and can even be upgraded to a third-degree felony for certain offenders.
This means more severe penalties that are serving as a deterrent.
"What we're doing is helping people think about something twice before they violate their conditions of parole," said Rene Hinojosa, Director of TDCJ's Parole Division. "If they're making the right choice, we hope it will lead them to make better decisions."
The State Senate Committee on Criminal Justice held a hearing to hear from stakeholders on the law's impacts and progress. KHOU 11 News learned 39 people have been convicted for tampering with their ankle monitors since the law went into effect.
Punishments have ranged from 30 days in county jail to 25 years at TDCJ.
Civil rights groups who testified at that hearing said the results of the law are encouraging, but do remain concerned technical issues with ankle monitors could lead to unwarranted criminal charges.