Parolees may soon get electronic tags

[Kornhub]

Johannesburg - Prisoners on parole may soon start wearing bracelets with electronic tags to monitor their movement, the correctional services department said on Monday.

"We are looking at the end of the year to start piloting this," departmental spokesperson Sonwabo Mbananga told Sapa.

He said this would be part of the department's efforts to increase its monitoring capacity of parolees.

"It will be used as part of a basket of tools that will be used to encourage the judiciary to divert more and more prisoners to correctional supervision," said Mbananga.

Two feasibility studies have already been conducted and the department had looked at how this was being done in the New York correctional services department.

Best system for SA


Johannesburg - Prisoners on parole may soon start wearing bracelets with electronic tags to monitor their movement, the correctional services department said on Monday.

"We are looking at the end of the year to start piloting this," departmental spokesperson Sonwabo Mbananga told Sapa.

He said this would be part of the department's efforts to increase its monitoring capacity of parolees.

"It will be used as part of a basket of tools that will be used to encourage the judiciary to divert more and more prisoners to correctional supervision," said Mbananga.

Two feasibility studies have already been conducted and the department had looked at how this was being done in the New York correctional services department.

Best system for SA

Mbananga said one could use ankle or wrist bracelets fitted with an electronic tag.

"The whole purpose is that it needs to be able to pick up at any given time where you are. The objective would be that it [the bracelet] is not removable, and if it is removed, it would be a breach of parole conditions."

He said there were different technologies available on how to monitor the parolees' movement.
It could be done through radio technology, cellphone networks or satellite technology.

"The government is in the final phases now of identifying which technology would work best in South Africa."

He said the "inaugural" electronic tagging system would be piloted on "those offenders serving life sentences and currently being considered for placement on parole by Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, following a directive by the Constitutional Court with respect to lifers sentenced before 1 March 1994".
- SAPA

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Parolees-may-soon-get-electric-tags-20110725

 

[Devill]

This is mostly good news

 

[Mila]

Oh dear. I see money going missing. Sorry minister please centralize the finger print and criminal data base. Have all employees tained on these systems then we can start with bigger stuff.


Great news if the had the small things working.

 

[Creag]

I would prefer that they trial this before rolling it out, i.e. tag +/- 30 and monitor them before the whole bang shoot. For some reason, our miscreants tend to find ways and means around most obstacles. So a smal sample as a trial might be better than releasing 1,000 and losing 90% of them into the abyss.

 

[Kornhub]

I would prefer that they trial this before rolling it out, i.e. tag +/- 30 and monitor them before the whole bang shoot. For some reason, our miscreants tend to find ways and means around most obstacles. So a smal sample as a trial might be better than releasing 1,000 and losing 90% of them into the abyss.

True and im sure they will but you are right,our criminals always find away to get past things!

 

[genetic]

Oh dear. I see money going missing. Sorry minister please centralize the finger print and criminal data base. Have all employees tained on these systems then we can start with bigger stuff.


Great news if the had the small things working.

The fingerprint system is centralised - as is the criminal database.

This system could work, as long as the tag can set off an alarm as soon as it's tampered with - it beats the current system where parolees are only monitored by means of physical spot check-ups.

 

[Merlin]

The fingerprint system is centralised - as is the criminal database.

No, it's not.

I got ripped off to the tune of thousands of Rands years ago. > I < did a lot of PI work and then - by fluke - ran into the scumbag in Lesotho. He's working there. I spent more of my money to visit the last known area he resided in and discovered a trove of criminal history there. I also discovered that he had skipped parole and left town.

The detective in charge thanked me for my information. I also told him exactly where to find him, who he works for, when to catch him, etc.

Two years later he is still at large - and he crosses the SA BORDER EVERY WEEK.

Centralized my ar*e.

 

[genetic]

No, it's not.

I got ripped off to the tune of thousands of Rands years ago. > I < did a lot of PI work and then - by fluke - ran into the scumbag in Lesotho. He's working there. I spent more of my money to visit the last known area he resided in and discovered a trove of criminal history there. I also discovered that he had skipped parole and left town.

The detective in charge thanked me for my information. I also told him exactly where to find him, who he works for, when to catch him, etc.

Two years later he is still at large - and he crosses the SA BORDER EVERY WEEK.

Centralized my ar*e.

Of course they have a central criminal and fingerprint database. Go do some research - also, only recently did the SAPS get access to the Department of Home Affairs' fingerprint database, which contains all (read - non-criminal) fingerprints on the DHA's system.

 

[Picard]

Prisoners should be wearing explosive tags. If they leave a certain area .... Boom!

 

[Albereth]

So parolees are getting etagged - how much will they pay per kilometer?