One-piece GPS ankle monitors integrate GPS, cellular, and anti-tamper in a single device. Two-piece systems use a separate ankle transmitter paired with a portable tracker or home base unit. One-piece designs reduce device failures and logistics but carry higher per-unit costs. The right choice depends on your caseload size, risk mix, and operations capacity.
Cook County, Illinois documented that over 80% of ankle monitor alerts were false alarms. Germany's electronic monitoring program averaged one false alarm every 3 days per offender. False alerts are the single largest operational cost driver in monitoring programs — and the technology behind your tamper detection system determines most of that volume.
GPS ankle monitors track real-time location via satellites with accuracy within 72 feet. RF monitors only confirm presence or absence at a home base station within roughly 100 feet. The right choice depends on your agency's supervision goals, caseload risk levels, and budget.
