Ankle bracelets being tested for non-serious crimes in 23-court study

[webfact]

Ankle bracelets being tested for non-serious crimes in 23-court study

By The Nation

 

 

Bangkok’s Min Buri Court is pioneering a programme using ankle bracelets to electronically monitor legal offenders temporarily released on bail, said Sarawut Benjakul, secretary-general of the Office of the Judiciary.
 

The Bangkok court is the first of 23 courts in a pilot study that begins this month.

 

A Min Buri court judge on Saturday ordered a suspect in a case of drug abuse and possession for consumption to wear the Electronic Monitoring (EM) device. The judge also required only Bt10,000 in cash as a surety bond to approve a bail release pending the police investigation, Sarawut said. 

 

Offenders would be considered for the EM project if they cannot afford a traditional surety bond and had not committed serious crimes.

 

The pilot project saw 5,000 electronic bracelets distributed between 23 courts for the March 1 kick-off, and funded through a Bt80.8 million budget allocation.

 

The approach aims to prevent suspects from jumping bail, reduce incarceration of people who cannot afford to post bail, tackle the issue of jail overcrowding. 

 

Officials – working eight-hour shifts with eight staff on each shift - will staff the EM Monitoring Centre around the clock to check and limit the travel to within the permitted area for bailed or paroled individuals.

 

The ankle devices – each weighing only 230 grams and equipped with a GPS – would send off signals and exact real-time locations. It would trigger an alert about any attempt to remove or destroy the device or violate other parole conditions.

 

Some 600 devices will be used at the Ratchadapisek Criminal Court in Bangkok and another 600 at the Min Buri Court, while the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court and the Thon Buri Court will each be given 300 tracking devices.

 

Another 50 will go to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases and each of its seven regional branches that have joined the pilot project.

 

Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla courts are each being given 300 devices, while Pattaya, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Phitsanulok and Surat Thani courts were each given 200.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30340131

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-05

[Samui Bodoh]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

The approach aims to prevent suspects from jumping bail, reduce incarceration of people who cannot afford to post bail, tackle the issue of jail overcrowding. 

This approach in law enforcement is a very good thing for all the reasons noted above.

 

My one concern is the same concern that always pops up in Thai law-enforcement; the human element. I would fear that the wealthy High-So might be able to 'turn' off the devices at will through connections and/or bribes. If this could be dealt with, I'd be 100% behind the idea...

 

[Get Real]

Right on! Electronic monitoring was invented already in the beginning of the 1960´s. 1983 was the first time an american judge in New Mexico initiated a judicially sanctioned program for eletronic monitoring.

 

Now, that has reached awareness in Thailand. I guess it´s not all wrong to say like 50-100 years back in time. I am still waiting for the 4.0 explosion of knowledge and extreme understanding.

[grumbleweed]

Great idea. Now all that's left is to push it through the standard stupifying process until it becomes unworkable

[stanleycoin]

Wont work.

No cops will chase Noi or Ping Ping around to rearrest them,

after they have run away !!!!!!!!. 

Only one place,   will work for the Thais, and thats Jail.

Just build more jails, bring in  chain gang work forces and  start cleaning up the rubbish in and around Thailand, or digging roads, cleaning the Klongs and so on. 

 

 

[YetAnother]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

using ankle bracelets to electronically monitor legal offenders temporarily released on bail, said Sarawut Benjakul, secretary-general of the Office of the Judiciary.

a secretary general said that ? he should know that bail is not any conclusion of the legal process, at that point there are only allegations of being a 'legal offender',awaiting trial

[Blackheart1916]

Should work great, at least until the battery goes flat, no one bothers to recharge it, and no one bothers to chase it up 555

[RichardColeman]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The ankle devices – each weighing only 230 grams and equipped with a GPS – would send off signals and exact real-time locations.

Better off ankle bracelets with 20 foot chains than electric gizmos 

[Just1Voice]

Well, congratulations Thailand, and welcome to the civilized world, where these devices have already been in use for over 40 years now. 

[Rimbuman]

The ankle devices – each weighing only 230 grams and equipped with a GPS – would send off signals and exact real-time locations. It would trigger an alert about any attempt to remove or destroy the device or violate other parole conditions.

 

Sure that'll work fine, only wrap some tin-foil around the leg and device and no signal will come in out. Maybe those metal-detector they bought some years ago can be used to trace them when they do runners like that.

[TSF]

Every farang should have one of these fitted when they enter the Kingdom, it can be removed when they depart. No need for 90-day reporting, think of all the time and energy saved...

[tryasimight]

48 minutes ago, TSF said:

Every farang should have one of these fitted when they enter the Kingdom, it can be removed when they depart. No need for 90-day reporting, think of all the time and energy saved...

That was discussed a couple of years ago. 

[stanleycoin]

1 hour ago, TSF said:

Every farang should have one of these fitted when they enter the Kingdom, it can be removed when they depart. No need for 90-day reporting, think of all the time and energy saved...

Nah.

They would charge you for the hire of it per day,  plus 10,000 deposit.

then refuse to return your deposit because they just want to keep the money.

thats how it works here ?   or is there some new law against that ,