Ministry of Justice Promotes 'Stigma Effect Improvement Project'... "Increased Size and Weight Raise Complaints from Wearers"
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice is considering making electronic anklets smaller and lighter than they are now. The aim is to reduce the social stigma experienced by those wearing electronic anklets and focus more on rehabilitation rather than psychological pressure. However, as issues regarding the effectiveness of electronic anklets continue to arise, there are also claims that these measures are excessive conveniences, which is expected to spark controversy.
According to the legal community on the 17th, the Ministry of Justice plans to improve the functionality and appearance of the electronic tracking devices currently managed, considering the aging of the devices and the continuous increase in the number of wearers.
As of May 2021, there are about 4,800 people under electronic supervision nationwide. When the Electronic Anklet Act was first introduced in 2008, there were only 151 people, but the number has increased more than 30 times in 13 years. In fact, hundreds of people have been added every year, and with last year's amendment to the 'Electronic Device Attachment Act' allowing electronic devices such as anklets to be attached to all parolees, the number of subjects is expected to continue to rise.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Justice has decided to produce improved electronic anklets for more stable electronic supervision. First, to establish an accurate location information system, they plan to utilize global satellite technologies such as GPS and GLONASS to receive satellite signals even in poor environments. The goal is to minimize so-called shadow areas by enhancing signal reception rates.
Measures are also being taken considering the frequent incidents of electronic anklet damage. The strap material will be changed to prevent damage attempts in advance; currently, the damage detection sensor is surrounded by urethane and steel.
A notable point is the improvement plan considering the wearers' discomfort. The current integrated electronic anklet combines the functions of previous portable tracking and attachment devices, resulting in increased size and weight, which has led to growing dissatisfaction, according to the Ministry of Justice. To improve this, miniaturization and weight reduction are being pursued, which is expected to significantly reduce the social stigma effect on anklet wearers, one of the obstacles to rehabilitation.
However, there are also many criticisms that this excessively protects the human rights of criminals. The argument is that if electronic anklets are improved for the convenience of these individuals, the psychological burden will decrease, thereby weakening the effect of suppressing criminal impulses. According to Ministry of Justice statistics, the recidivism rate for sex crimes among electronic anklet wearers is 2.1% (average from 2015 to 2019), which is much lower than the 14.1% recidivism rate for sex offenders without anklets (average from 2003 to 2007). This is evidence that strong electronic anklet wearing guidelines alone have a crime prevention effect.
On the other hand, since the primary purpose of electronic anklet attachment is location tracking, there are voices calling for reducing resistance to wearing the anklet itself to encourage rehabilitation. Given the repeated cases of committing new crimes while wearing electronic anklets or damaging the devices and fleeing, it is argued that the burden of wearing electronic anklets should be reduced to prevent recidivism.
Criminal law specialist lawyer Cheon Juhyun said, "If electronic anklets are made lighter and smaller, the resistance to body attachment will decrease, and violations such as device damage will significantly decrease," adding, "Since the order to wear electronic anklets is not for punishment, it will allow more focus on rehabilitation, which is expected to have a crime eradication effect." He continued, "It is hard to say that the stigma from electronic anklets lowers crime rates, so it is more important to confirm compliance through an effective monitoring system."
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