Over 60% of people in Manitoba's ankle monitoring program were rearrested or breached rules
CBC
More than half the people released with an ankle monitor since those devices were introduced in Manitoba in August 2024 were rearrested or broke the rules of their release while wearing one, recent numbers obtained by CBC News show.
According to the justice minister’s office, 530 people were released through that program up to Oct. 16, 2025. Of those, 243 were rearrested for breaches of conditions or new crimes, 53 removed the device and fled, 16 damaged the strap and 12 let the battery die — making up just over 60 per cent of the total.
Charges were stayed for 11 people, 19 were sentenced and one was acquitted. Eight people had their monitoring conditions removed, and one person died while wearing the device.
As of Oct. 16, there were 166 people who still had ankle monitors.
Those numbers were recently provided to CBC News by Justice Minister Matt Wiebe’s office, after the province previously refused to disclose them.
The data was released after CBC obtained similar numbers during a recent bail hearing, where a Crown attorney used the stats to argue a man accused of domestic violence-related charges shouldn't be released, even with an ankle monitor.
"The limits of the program are underlined by the statistics," prosecutor Ben Wickstrom told a judge at the hearing, who ended up denying the accused bail.
A Crown attorney in another recent bail hearing for a prolific alleged shoplifter went further, calling the program’s failure rate "staggering" — and noting his office has another case where a person was accused of stealing from a drugstore while wearing an ankle monitor.
"I’ve often heard it said that, 'Well, we know where an individual is [if they’re wearing an ankle monitor].' Well no, we only know that if their battery's charged [and] they haven't removed the device," Crown attorney Colin Soul said during the hearing. "This isn't a far-fetched submission from the Crown — we know that this has occurred."
That accused's bail was also denied.
The province introduced ankle monitors last year, when Justice Minister Wiebe said they could be used to prevent repeat offending and ensure people follow their conditions while on release.
The devices use 24/7 GPS tracking and real-time communication through voice, audio and vibration commands, and can play loud alerts if someone goes into an area they’re not allowed to be.
Criminal justice professor Michael Weinrath said while there’s often interest in electronic monitoring because the ankle bracelet creates an idea of security, the latest numbers on Manitoba’s program suggest it’s "failed miserably."
"I don't think you need a fellow like myself with a PhD to tell people that these are not good numbers," said Weinrath, who teaches at the University of Winnipeg. "They're pretty stark."
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