Electronic Monitoring Bracelets Fail in the Netherlands After Software Update

Representatives from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security reported that, due to an unsuccessful software update, they temporarily lost the ability to track the location of suspects, as well as individuals under house arrest or released on bail. After the software update, the special bracelets used to monitor the whereabouts of convicted individuals and suspects stopped working correctly and failed to transmit signals to law enforcement control centers.

As a result, police and other agencies had to act quickly. High-risk suspects were taken into custody, while other convicted individuals and suspects received in-person visits and checks. Some were urgently asked to report to police stations or supervising officers.

The system malfunction was resolved within a day, and representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Security now assure that the situation is under control.

It is worth noting that this is not the first such incident for Dutch law enforcement. In August 2018, a massive failure among mobile operators also caused the monitoring system for suspects and convicted individuals to go offline. At that time, the Dutch Ministry of Justice reported that they had temporarily “lost track” of about 450 out of 700 people under surveillance.