Leasing, however, may provide protection with regard to the obtaining of equipment upgrades when they become available. In addition, with equipment purchases, there is a need to contract for repair services. This service could prove to be more economical than utilizing agency staff. The down side is that some degree of agency control could be lost in having cases followed by an entity other than the criminal justice agency directly responsible for the offender. Many jurisdictions impose a fee on the monitored offender.
Fees tend to be set on a sliding fee scale.
Care should be taken to prevent any discriminatory practice. Individuals unable to pay a fee for program participation should not be excluded from consideration. Further, programs should allow options in the event an eligible offender is unable to financially afford telephone service or cannot have a telephone in his or her living arrangement. The use of cellular telephones, although costly, is one method of resolving this problem. Fees might not offset the costs associated with electronic monitoring.