More than one-third of the people on electronic monitoring for shoplifting cases in Cook County have gone missing, according to newly released data from Chief Judge Charles Beach. So have a quarter of the robbery defendants. Those are just a couple of the details revealed in a new report issued as part of Beach’s campaign to overhaul the county’s ankle monitor program and improve its transparency.
Tuesday’s report shows that of the 244 missing defendants, about 24% were on electronic monitoring for domestic-related charges. Alleged shoplifters dominate the balance: 24 people put on ankle monitors after being charged with shoplifting have gone AWOL, but a separate report by Beach’s office shows only 73 people are on ankle monitors for shoplifting, so a third of them have gone missing.
Also showing above-average disappearance rates: burglars. Nearly 15% of them have slipped away while awaiting trial. And 27% of people charged with battery have gone AWOL, too. For more serious aggravated battery cases, the AWOL rate is 10%…