Target 11: Allegheny County Courts responds to criticism over electronic monitoring

ALLEGHENY COUNTY — Allegheny County Courts is responding to criticism about the electronic monitoring system in Allegheny County.

It comes after the suspect in the Brighton Heights funeral shooting was seen on a jailhouse video call removing an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Related coverage: 6 people injured after shooting outside funeral in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights

The fifth judicial district which oversees Allegheny County Courts issued a report into the incident that sparked sharp criticism from the District Attorney, who said electronic monitoring does not protect the public.

The video shows Shawn Davis sliding his bracelet off and laughing and joking with an inmate at Allegheny County during the video call.

Davis was at his home on electronic house arrest at the time.

This occurred before he was charged with the funeral shooting.

The courts confirmed this afternoon that Davis did not cut off the bracelet but managed to slide it off which they say is very rare. Alerts did come in, but they say they were not responded to as they should have been.

That incident has now prompted changes.

A spokesman said pretrial services is now updating protocols and procedures and retraining personnel to make sure this does not happen again.

Currently, 613 people are under electronic house arrest in Allegheny County and they are supervised around the clock by 28 probation officers. During one week in April, 5,235 alerts came in, but say most of the alerts are triggered by a relatively small number of people.

Despite the criticism leveled by the district attorney, the courts contend that electronic monitoring can be an effective method for supervising individuals who are not in jail.

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