The crime-prevention group Nicro says awaiting-trial prisoners could be released and remotely monitored through electronic tags.
|||Cape Town - Awaiting-trial prisoners could be safely released and remotely monitored by the use of electronic tags and even mini-breathalysers to check they had not been drinking, the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (Nicro) said on Thursday.
Nicro said its locally designed Remand Revolution System could help combat chronic over-crowding in prisons, by keeping tabs on “low-risk” awaiting-trial suspects who had been released until their trial dates. The system would allow officials to know where a suspect was at all times, by using a tamper-proof ankle bracelet, said Nicro’s Glen Jordan.
“We have an over-arching problem with overcrowding in prisons… We can use technology to solve it.”
The bracelet has a small battery that lasts 12 months.
Nicro said it would cost about R4 000 a month to electronically tag a suspect - half of the R9 000 it costs to keep a detainee in prison for a month.
Using a combination of cellphone and satellite technology, the bracelet sends a constant signal to a command centre, that shows the suspect’s whereabouts.
Unlike similar tagging schemes used overseas, Jordan said, suspects would be given cellphones by Nicro.
Officials would always be able to reach them, and they would be able to contact a support group.
A pocket-sized breathalyser could also be provided, to make sure the suspect did not abuse alcohol before the court date. Jordan said the system’s technology had been patented and the patent was owned by Nicro.
Cape Times