How to Hide an Ankle Monitor

Wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor while on probation, parole, or pretrial release offers freedom that jail or prison would not, but it can be uncomfortable to constantly explain why you are wearing a GPS, RF, or SCRAM monitor in public. There are legal, cosmetic ways to make an ankle monitor less noticeable and more comfortable to wear.

It is worth separating two very different things before getting into specifics. Concealing an ankle monitor under clothing, or padding it for comfort, does not change what the device does, and it is not against the law. Removing it, disabling it, or deliberately blocking its GPS or alcohol-sensing signal is something else entirely: that is tampering, and states prosecute it as a separate criminal offense on top of the original case. Florida, for example, classifies tampering with an electronic monitoring device as a felony under Fla. Stat. § 843.23, with the severity tied to the underlying charge. If you are ever unsure whether something crosses that line, check with your supervising officer or monitoring company before you try it.

Wearing Loose Pants

Luckily, over the past couple of years there has been a trend toward looser-fitting pants. Gone are the days of skin-tight, ankle-hugging jeans. That means you are not limited to sweatpants and bell bottoms. Try a thicker straight-leg denim (in style for both men and women) or an athletic sweatpant with an elastic band at the bottom.

With wide and baggy-leg pants currently in fashion, covering an ankle monitor usually is not difficult. The main thing to plan around is footwear. A wider-leg jean often needs a chunkier shoe to balance it, such as a thick trainer or workboot.

Pants for Hiding an Ankle Bracelet for Men

Men generally have fewer style constraints here. Slim-cut jeans are really the only pants worth avoiding. A straight-leg dress, cargo, or sweatpant should hide an ankle monitor for most occasions, but try items on before buying, since fit varies by device model. A high-ankle workboot can also help cover it from below.

Pants for Hiding an Ankle Bracelet for Women

Current style trends give women plenty of options, from bootcut jeans and sweatpants to a 90s-style wide-leg pant or a looser jogger. The main thing to avoid is anything skin-tight or cropped above the ankle.

Cover It Up With an Ankle Monitor Cover

Padded covers and sleeves made for ankle monitors are sold for comfort. They wrap around the device to reduce chafing and movement against the skin, and they can help even when they do not fully hide the monitor under clothing.

Check with your supervising officer or monitoring company before using one. Ankle monitors rely on sensors built into the strap and housing, and wrapping or covering the device, even for a legitimate comfort reason, can be read as interference and trigger a false tamper alert. Confirming that a specific cover is compatible with your device model first avoids that risk entirely.

Wear Work Boots

This works for both men and women, though it can take more searching for women's boots roomy enough to fit comfortably over the monitor. Try different combinations of pants and boots with the monitor in place before settling on one, since devices vary in size and shape.

If you are considering extra padding near the strap for comfort, ask your supervising officer first. Some monitoring programs are fine with it; others want nothing placed between the device and your skin so its sensors get a clean, consistent reading.

Wear It Obviously

People end up on an ankle monitor for a lot of different reasons, and offense severity is not really the deciding factor. Courts and agencies use them for people awaiting trial who have not been convicted of anything, for probation and parole conditions, for immigration proceedings, and as an alternative to jail time, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (See our guide to the different types of ankle monitors for more on who wears which kind and why.)

So while it can feel like everyone is looking, wearing your ankle monitor visibly is not against any rule, and it does not tell anyone what you were charged with.

How to Keep Your Ankle Monitor Dry

Showering and light rain are not a problem for nearly any ankle monitor on the market, according to monitoring providers. What you should avoid is submerging the device, and just as importantly, wrapping it in plastic or a waterproof cover to try to keep it dry. Covering the device this way is often treated the same as tampering with it.

The real reason submersion is restricted is signal, not the housing. Water blocks the GPS or radio-frequency signal a monitor relies on, and losing that signal can trigger the same kind of alert as an actual violation. On SCRAM alcohol monitors specifically, wrapping the device is handled the same way as tampering with it, since it can also block the sensor that tests for alcohol through your skin.

If you need to keep your monitor dry for something specific, like washing dishes or working outside in the rain, ask your monitoring company what is approved for your device first. Most manufacturers rate their hardware as water-resistant, not waterproof, and that distinction is the difference between an uneventful shower and an alert to your supervising officer.