North Dakota – The North Dakota Emergency Commission, chaired by Kelly Armstrong, unanimously approved funding to expand the use of GPS monitoring bracelets for all residents of transitional facilities across the state. The move is aimed at strengthening real-time supervision and enhancing public safety.
The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation requested $105,000 to cover the cost of the expansion for the remainder of the current biennium, which ends June 30, 2027.
The department previously implemented GPS monitoring in October 2025 for approximately 300 individuals on inmate status housed in transitional facilities. That initial rollout, which addressed lawmakers’ concerns about supervision, accountability and community safety, cost $568,000 and was absorbed within the agency’s existing budget authority.
With the newly approved contingency funds, the department will now extend GPS monitoring requirements to individuals placed in transitional facilities by outside authorities, including courts and the parole board, when the department remains responsible for their supervision. The expansion also applies to individuals on work release. Officials estimate that an average of 122 people placed through probation and parole will require GPS monitoring under the updated policy.
Armstrong said the change is designed to improve safety outcomes while also reducing long-term costs.
“This change will make our communities safer and save taxpayers’ money in the long run by reducing recidivism and incarceration costs and avoiding the need to build more jails and prisons,” Armstrong said.
DOCR Director Colby Braun said early results from the initial phase of GPS monitoring have been positive. According to Braun, the technology allows for real-time supervision, confirms whether individuals are at approved locations and enables quicker responses to unauthorized movements or absconding.
Braun added that without the GPS monitoring option, many individuals — particularly those placed in probation diversion programs — would likely be incarcerated in prison or housed in county jails, which carry higher costs. He noted that North Dakota’s correctional system currently has more than 430 sentenced individuals housed in county jails due to prison capacity limitations.
“With GPS monitoring, we are enhancing supervision and accountability, responding directly to legislative concerns raised last session, and strengthening community and victim safety while preserving access to work and treatment opportunities,” Braun said.
The six-member Emergency Commission is composed of the governor as chair, the secretary of state, the House and Senate majority leaders, and the House and Senate appropriations committee chairs.
The funding approval must still be reviewed by the Legislature’s Budget Section, which is scheduled to meet March 18. The department anticipates seeking ongoing legislative funding in the next biennium to continue GPS monitoring for all transitional and work release participants.
