Electronic offender monitoring market in Europe and North America to reach €1.3bn in 2023
Martin Backman of Berg Insight
IoT market research provider, Berg Insight of Gothenburg, Sweden, has released new findings on the market for Electronic Monitoring (EM) of offenders. The number of participants in EM programs on a daily basis amounted to around 39,000 people in Europe and around 231,000 people in North America in 2019.
The market value for EM including equipment, software and services in Europe was about €190 million in 2019. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%, this number is expected to reach €270 million by 2023. The North American market for EM is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 9% from US$850 million (€778 million) in 2019 to close to US$1.2 billion (€1.1 billion) in 2023.
The aim of EM programs is to increase offender accountability, reduce recidivism rates and enhance public safety by providing an additional tool to traditional methods of community supervision. Policy makers, corrections authorities and private sector service providers also advocate for extended EM programs to reduce total correctional system costs and reduce the prison population.
Prison overcrowding is a major problem in many countries, especially in the US which has the largest prison population and prison population rate in the world. Even though EM programs have been in use for more than a decade in most countries, the usage remains relatively low in the European and North American correctional systems. There are two major technologies used in electronic monitoring programs – RF and GPS. In North America, around 75% of the devices used are based on GPS and cellular technology. In Europe, RF is the dominant technology and GPS-based systems account for a mere 5% of all systems used.
Attenti is among the few EM providers with a truly global presence. The company is the world’s largest provider of EM equipment and the company holds a significant market share on both the European and North American markets. G4S is the world’s largest security service company and is a leading provider of EM equipment on the European market.
BI Incorporated, a subsidiary of GEO Group, is the largest provider of EM equipment and services on the North American market. Additional leading solution providers in North America and Europe include Track Group, Securus Monitoring Solutions, Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Sierra Wireless, Sentinel Offender Services, Geosatis and Comp.
In recent years, the leading providers of EM solutions have focused on developing advanced software and analytical tools to help officers prioritise and manage alerts more effectively. “The time spent analysing each offender can be reduced significantly with the use of improved software” says Martin Backman, IoT analyst at Berg Insight.
The latest solutions released on the market also have extended functionalities. “Offender monitoring systems today can not only provide offenders’ real-time location but also analyse behavioural and travel patterns which can be used to identify and prioritise high-risk offenders”, concludes Mr. Backman.
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