Johnson County sheriff’s GPS monitoring program helps keep jail population down

IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has continued a pretrial GPS monitoring pilot program that started in August 2022. The program’s goal was to keep people out of jail pending trials, which has allowed them to maintain jobs, education and treatment while also reducing jail numbers.

The first-of-its-kind pretrial electronic monitoring program in the state was modeled after one in Pitt County, N.C., which saved that county about $1.2 million a year in daily jail costs.

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel, County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith, a judge and others in 2022 visited the North Carolina county to talk with program officials there about their electronic monitoring and brought the idea back to Johnson County.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved using $1.1 million in federal pandemic funds to cover five years of the program.

Johnson County Sheriff’s Lt. Becky Moses provided an update on the program, whose costs are now being absorbed by the sheriff’s office after the pandemic funding ended in 2024.

Q: How many offenders have qualified for the pretrial program since 2022? How many were successful and how many were revoked?

A: We have had 40 candidates on pretrial release. Of those, 23 were successful, 13 were revoked, and four are currently on pretrial release.

Q: The monitors track in real time, so could deputies possibly prevent violations or are they able to monitor those that closely?

A: The SCRAM GPS devices — a one piece ankle bracelet — provide real-time alerts. However, unless closely monitored it would be difficult to prevent possible violations. We encourage victims to use SCRAM's Ally app that works in conjunction with the SCRAM GPS devices. This would provide an exclusion zone around the victim's phone and would alert the deputies as well as the victim if the offender were to enter into that exclusion zone.

The GPS deputies also set up exclusion zones around the victim’s work, home, etc. to provide additional safeguards.

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Q: The pilot program received pandemic funds, which ended in 2024. What did that funding cover?

A: The funding covered two deputy sheriff positions, a vehicle and equipment. The sheriff’s office absorbed the GPS program after the pandemic funds ended.

Q: Are the offenders on pretrial release charged for electronic monitoring? Are the those sentenced on monitors charged?

A: The offenders on pretrial release are not charged for the electronic monitoring due to being court ordered into the program and their cases are still pending.

Individuals that were convicted and need to serve their jail sentences on home confinement/work release with electronic monitoring are charged $20 a day that they are on electronic monitoring.

Q: Initially, the deputies working on the program were selecting offenders on a case-by-case basis. Is that still the process?

A: The deputies still make referrals to the courts on who they believe would be potential candidates but most of the current candidates have come from decisions made by the courts and attorneys.

Q: What type of offenders have been selected for the electronic monitoring program?

A: We’ve had offenders charged with various crimes on pretrial GPS from domestic assault, vehicular homicide and drug offenses.

Q: The deputies also have other duties, as well as the GPS program?

A: The GPS deputies help to support several other divisions within the office. They help with attempting and serving mental health and substance abuse committals, they conduct sex offender registration checks and they provide assistance to the jail with transports when necessary.

Q: Has the program helped reduce numbers at the jail? Is it possible to provide those numbers from 2024 and 2025 — so far — to show how many beds were made available due to electronic monitoring?

A: The GPS program has helped reduced the number of inmates held in the Johnson County Jail.

From Jan. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, it has saved 5,186 bed days for those on electronic monitoring serving sentences on home confinement/work release. In that same time it has also saved 4,134 bed days for offenders on pretrial release.

From conception to Sept. 30, 2025, it has saved 9,631 beds for those serving sentences on home confinement/work release. As well as saving 5,743 bed days for those offenders on pretrial release. We have also provided 1,205 days of SCRAM Ally notifications for victims that have opted to have the app on their phone to provide real-time alerts if the offender were to get in close proximity of the victim.

Kunkel said the program has helped the department.

“I think it’s a great program and provides an additional layer to our jail diversion efforts while promoting safety for crime victims,” he said. “I’d like to see more domestic violence defendants placed on GPS as a condition of release, but those decisions are left to the courts.”

Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com