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A program that uses tracking bracelets to monitor people accused of crimes and considered dangerous will be expanded beyond Winnipeg and will include the use of an app that can provide resources and emergency support to survivors of intimate partner violence, the province said Friday.

“This makes a huge difference in giving the victim power, the ability to feel safe and to deploy resources when necessary,” Attorney General Matt Wiebe said at a news conference in Selkirk on Friday.

The province rolled out the monitoring program to monitor people released on bail in August, and had initially set specific criteria for which accused offenders could be fitted with the monitors, including violent offenders but excluding homicide cases. serious assault or violence with a criminal record. firearm.

The program also initially excluded cases involving intimate partner violence, but the province is now expanding the program to people accused in such cases.

It is also expanding from Winnipeg to several rural areas starting December 2 and includes the areas around Steinbach, Selkirk, the Pembina Valley, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Westman and Dauphin.

“We have seen tragedies in this province – we know that our crime rates outside of Winnipeg and specifically in rural Manitoba are high, and we know that our rates of intimate partner violence are high compared to the rest of the country,” Wiebe said. .

Manitoba’s monitoring program will now also provide survivors with resources through a smartphone app called Empower, which Wiebe said is a “game changer.”

The app can notify survivors if an offender has violated the terms of their bail or probation, Wiebe said.

It gives survivors access to information and resources, such as upcoming court hearings in the accused perpetrator’s case, and has a panic button that a survivor can press if they need immediate help.

That will put them in touch with the commissioners monitoring the program to get advice or, if the situation escalates, have help sent to them.

“For far too long, survivors of intimate partner violence in this province have been forced to protect themselves, and often alone, without government support,” Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said in making the announcement on Friday.

“This is about believing women, girls, two-spirit and gender diverse people. It’s about supporting them in real time.”

Wiebe said the decision on which accused offenders will receive the ankle bracelets will still be determined by an order from a judge.

In August, the province said it would roll out 100 devices. So far, only 31 are in use, Wiebe says, but with the expansion, he expects all of them to be in use soon.

“Law enforcement and the courts are really going to jump on this because they understand the technology and they continue to deploy it,” he said.

‘Important step’: shelter coordinator

The expansion of the program is an “important step” in addressing escalating violence, especially in rural communities where there is a lack of resources, safe spaces and counseling support, said Tsungai Muvingi, the provincial coordinator for the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters.

“It has unfortunately become all too common for perpetrators to seek out, stalk, harass, coerce and continue to abuse women, children and individuals fleeing gender-based violence,” she said.

The monitoring program is a survivor-centered approach to helping victims, she said, and helps them connect with law enforcement, who may not always respond in time through other traditional methods — including 911 calls.

Fontaine said the program responds to the realities of victims of violence, especially in First Nations communities who have been asking for real-time support for years.

“The ability to use an app is actually quite safe in itself. It will feel safer to the person using the app rather than having to call 911,” she said.

Other provinces have been using electronic monitoring of offenders for years, says Wiebe.

Manitoba previously had an ankle bracelet program that was phased out in 2017 by the then-Progressive Conservative government after a review found many bracelets were inaccurate or ineffective.

But in 2023, then-PC Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen changed course and promised to reinstate the program. The Tories were defeated in the October 2023 election before they could do so.

Wayne Balcaen, the justice critic for the current Opposition Progressive Conservatives, said ankle monitors are a tool for law enforcement.

But “Manitobans tired of the revolving door of this NDP government want jail time and no bail for repeat violent offenders,” he said in a statement.

“A violent offender in prison does not pose a risk to Manitobans.”

The province will spend $2.9 million over two years on the ankle bracelet program. The government said the contract may be extended.