What Happens if You Violate House Arrest Rules?
House arrest, or home confinement, is an alternative to jail or prison in California. It permits certain individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes to serve their sentences at home rather than behind bars.
This form of home confinement enables people to keep their jobs, care for their families, or pursue medical treatment while serving their sentence.
It provides a sense of normalcy and stability, offering reassurance during difficult times.
It can also be part of a diversionary program, leading to charges being dropped after completion.
Defense attorneys often seek house arrest as part of a plea deal, particularly if they can persuade prosecutors and the judge that the defendant is unlikely to flee and does not pose a public safety risk.
Although house arrest provides more flexibility than conventional jail time, it comes with strict rules to ensure accountability. Breaking these rules, whether intentionally or not, can result in serious legal consequences.
In California, breaking house arrest can result in immediate arrest, a revocation hearing, and possibly returning to jail or prison to complete the remaining sentence.
The judge has the authority to decide how to handle violations, ranging from issuing a warning to completely revoking house arrest.
What Does Home Confinement Mean?
California Penal Code 1203.016 PC governs home confinement, also known as house arrest or home detention. Sometimes, a judge may sentence a defendant to home confinement rather than to imprisonment in county or state facilities.
This option is available for both misdemeanors and felonies, but is generally used for nonviolent offenders serving sentences for minor crimes. If a judge permits you to serve part or all of your sentence at home, that time counts as jail time according to Penal Code 2900.5(f) PC.
Criminal courts often seek ways to reduce jail overcrowding while addressing illegal activity. Alternatives like electronic monitoring or house arrest are used, but not everyone qualifies.
Eligibility depends on certain rules, such as the judge imposing conditions requiring you to stay at home for designated periods.
Electronic monitoring devices usually restrict your movement to a specific area. This form of 'house arrest' involves wearing an ankle bracelet to confirm your location. Such programs are often part of the conditions of felony probation or parole.
These devices use GPS technology and satellite tracking to monitor your whereabouts, mainly to ensure you follow the rules set by the court. The SCRAM device, which detects alcohol consumption, is another form of electronic monitoring commonly used in DUI cases.
Who Is Eligible for House Arrest?
Your defense attorney typically requests house arrest, needing to persuade the judge that you qualify and are suitable. You could be considered for house arrest if certain conditions are met, such as:
- You are considered a low-risk and nonviolent offender.
- Your sentence was for county jail time, not state prison.
- You reside in the same county where the crime happened.
- You can easily be reach by phone.
- You are responsible for the payment of the home confinement program.
- You consent to abide by the rules of home confinement.
If you received a county jail sentence instead of state prison, you're much more likely to qualify for home detention.
It's important to understand the difference: state prison sentences tend to be longer and involve more serious offenses, while county jail time usually covers less severe crimes. Individuals with violent records or multiple offenses are generally ineligible for house arrest.
If you have a mental or physical impairment, you may qualify for house arrest if serving time in jail would be unreasonably difficult due to your condition.
Occasionally, a judge may also order house arrest as part of a parole agreement to release you from prison. If you believe you meet the eligibility requirements but your request is denied, you can appeal the decision.
Your attorney can assist you in this process and help you make a strong case for serving your sentence at home.
Common House Arrest Rules and Conditions
Individuals on house arrest must follow specific rules and conditions that may vary depending on their circumstances. Understanding these can help you better prepare for and manage your home confinement.
- Electronic Monitoring: Most people under house arrest are mandated to wear an electronic monitoring device, like an ankle bracelet. This device tracks their whereabouts and confirms they stay within authorized areas.
- Approval to Leave Home: The main rule of house arrest is staying on the premises unless you have approval to leave. Allowed activities include attending religious services, medical appointments, seeing your therapist, working, and going to school. Travel without permission is banned.
- Curfews: Courts frequently establish curfews specifying when people must remain indoors, and these are strictly enforced with electronic tracking.
- No Drugs or Alcohol: Home confinement rules prohibit drugs and alcohol, especially if detained for drug possession or DUI. You may need to wear a drug or alcohol detector, like adhesive patches or SCRAM devices, to monitor sobriety. Tampering breaches house arrest. Participants might undergo regular tests to stay sober.
- Probation Officer Visits: House arrest rules often require scheduled or unannounced visits from a probation officer to ensure compliance. You may also need to visit the probation office, which is usually prearranged, allowing you to leave your house for these appointments.
- Parole Officer Checks: Besides routine check-ins and activity logs, parole officers might also make random visits or calls to verify adherence to house arrest rules.
- Commit No New Crimes: It is strictly prohibited to commit further crimes or to associate with known criminals, since house arrest is usually regarded as part of probation or parole.
What are the Typical House Rules Violations?
Home confinement is a form of probation, so breaking its terms counts as a probation violation. Common violations include:
- Having a positive drug or alcohol test result.
- Leaving your residence without obtaining permission beforehand.
- Mandatory programming is missing.
- Engaging in a new criminal act.
- Losing your job.
- Tampering with or removing electronic monitoring devices.
If probation officers or law enforcement believe you violated your house arrest, they can arrest you. Without the ability to post bail, you will remain in custody until your probation violation hearing.
What Occurs When Rules Are Broken?
In California, violating house arrest rules is treated like a probation violation. Suppose you break any terms while under house arrest, your supervising agency or probation officer will inform the court.
Usually, you'll need to attend a court hearing. If the court finds you violated the rules, you could face several possible penalties:
- Warning: If the violation is minor or incidental, the judge might just warn you about future violations and keep the current terms unchanged.
- Reinstate: The judge has the authority to restore the home confinement rules without making any modifications.
- Stronger Restrictions: The court has the authority to impose more stringent conditions on your house arrest, which may include additional restrictions on privileges like work leave or medical visits.
- Additional Fines or Penalties: The court might issue fines as a punishment, or it could order you to attend counseling or complete community service.
- Revocation of House Arrest: If the violation is considered serious or intentional, the court might revoke your house arrest completely. In such cases, you could be remanded to jail or prison to serve the rest of your sentence.
The severity of the violation, combined with any previous violations, is crucial. Therefore, having a California criminal defense lawyer can be very important at this stage. If you were on parole, this violation would likely lead to parole revocation and send you back to prison.
Intentional House Arrest Violations
Another point to consider is that intentionally breaking house arrest—such as deliberately removing your electronic monitoring device or leaving your residence without permission to escape—can be regarded as more serious than a typical parole violation.
House arrest is like serving your jail sentence at home, and if you leave intentionally, the courts might treat it as equivalent to breaking out of jail or prison.
In these situations, prosecutors often charge house arrest violators with felony escape (Penal Code 4532 PC), a serious criminal offense that could lead to extra prison time if convicted.
Steps to Take If You Break House Arrest
If you're serving a sentence or participating in a diversion program through home confinement and violate the terms, hiring a skilled California criminal defense attorney is your best chance to lessen the consequences.
An experienced lawyer will assess the details of your house arrest breach, highlight any mitigating factors, and advocate for leniency during your violation hearing.
This can increase the likelihood that you will serve your sentence at home rather than go to jail. The consequences of violating house arrest rules in California include a warning, reinstatement, tighter restrictions, or revocation for serious violations. Contact Cron, Israels & Stark for a case evaluation.
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