A Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury report has found that while the county’s Electronic Home Detention program successfully keeps hundreds of people out of jail each year, improvements are needed in how the program handles appeals, collects data and communicates with participants.
The report, released May 14, examined the county’s Electronic Home Detention (EHD) program, which allows eligible individuals to remain at home under GPS monitoring instead of being held in jail. The program is administered by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office through its Custody Alternative Facility in Martinez.
According to the report, 801 adults were enrolled in electronic monitoring programs in 2025, including Electronic Home Detention and alcohol-monitoring programs. On average, about 77 percent of participants successfully complete the program by either appearing in court as required or completing their sentences without incident.
The Grand Jury noted that electronic monitoring provides substantial savings for taxpayers. The Sheriff’s Office reported that it cost approximately $29 per day to supervise a participant in the alternative custody program, compared to $257 per day to house an inmate in a detention facility.
Despite those benefits, the Grand Jury identified several concerns. Investigators found the Sheriff’s written policy for the program does not include information about participants’ rights to appeal denials or removals from the program, even though appeal rights are referenced in notices sent to participants. The report also found that attorneys are notified when a pre-trial participant is denied enrollment, but attorneys are not routinely notified when a post-sentencing participant is denied or removed from the program.
The report also criticized the lack of publicly available data about the program. Investigators found the county does not publish demographic information about individuals denied participation, reasons for denials, recidivism rates for participants, or separate cost figures for the various alternative custody programs operated by the Sheriff’s Office.
Another concern involved language accessibility. While many program documents are available in Spanish, several key forms are only available in English, and none of the materials reviewed by the Grand Jury were available in Mandarin.
The Grand Jury issued seven recommendations, including updating policies to clearly explain appeal rights, notifying attorneys when post-sentencing participants are denied enrollment, improving data collection and reporting, and translating all program documents into Spanish and Mandarin. The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office has been asked to respond to the findings and recommendations.
Electronic Home Detention allows eligible participants to serve sentences or await court proceedings while living at home under strict supervision, including GPS monitoring, home visits and compliance with court-ordered restrictions. The program is available only to individuals who meet eligibility requirements and have a suitable residence for monitoring.
A Democrat belief: If the system is nice to criminals, and if it coddles them, then criminals will turn into law abiding responsible honest citizens.
Electronic Home Detention Grand Jury report
Perhaps make them hacksaw-proof.