New electronic devices to keep close watch on parolees

[snoop1130]

New electronic devices to keep close watch on parolees

By The Nation

 

 

The Justice Ministry on Monday unveiled new electronic monitoring (EM) wrist-wrapping devices and an EM control centre that can operate around the clock and cover all sites in the world to keep an eye on offenders on parole or on suspended jail terms.

 

 

The 4,000 EM devices resemble smart wristwatches. The control centre at the Probation Department in Bangkok will get an immediate alert if the devices are disconnected, tampered with or destroyed or if the wearers breach the probation conditions in any way. This will enable police to take timely action.

 

The new devices will be ready for use starting January 2019, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister ACM Prajin Juntong said while presiding over the centre’s official opening ceremony.

 

 

The wrist-wrapping EM devices, which use the True, AIS and DTAC networks, are said to be effective even when the parolees are in vehicles or anywhere in the world, including under two metres of water.

 

The use of the EM as an alternative for imprisonment would reduce the chances of small-crime offenders learning how to commit more serious offences from prison inmates, and give them the opportunity to continue to make a living while remaining with their families and society, provided they adhered to the Probation Department’s conditions, Prajin said. 

 

 

The Justice Ministry is considering use of the EM devices to also cover offenders under the Corrections Department and the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection, he said.

 

The 4,000 EM devices under the Probation Department were rented from a private company for 21 months (January 2019 to September 2020), Probation Department chief Prasarn Mahaleetrakul said. 

 

 

The EM can cover offenders who must be in the limited zone, who are barred from going out at night or be in areas known for drug-trafficking issues, those on probation for speeding/reckless driving/traffic violation charges, those offenders who are under a restraining order to not be within a certain radius near victims of intrusion, assault or sex crimes, Prasarn said.

 

The Probation Department had earlier carried out a pilot project to put 246 parolees on the EM devices, he added.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30361039

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-24

[janclaes47]

1 minute ago, snoop1130 said:

an EM control centre that can operate around the clock and cover all sites in the world to keep an eye on offenders on parole

Why the need to cover sites all over the world, someone who's on parole and discovered outside Thailand, will most likely never return  anyway.

[Phuketshrew]

Let's hope they work better than the GT200 bomb detectors ...

[AhFarangJa]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

those on probation for speeding/reckless driving/traffic violation charges

Yes....all four of them............

[connda]

Dear tourists and expats.  We have a device we would like you to wear during your stay in the country - for your own safety of course!

[Inepto Cracy]

How deep can these devises go underwater before water ingress? Take it diving and see?

 

[fforest1]

These will come in handy to keep track of the barely tolerated old western pensioners in Thailand....

[Retiredandhappyhere]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Dear tourists and expats.  We have a device we would like you to wear during your stay in the country - for your own safety of course!

Judging by some comments on TV, I think that some expats would elect to wear one if it meant that they did not have to do their 90 day reports. 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

It sounds like the Control Centre staff are going to be very busy monitoring all these devices (assuming they actually work, of course) as in no time at all the wearers will find ways to circumvent them and throw the whole organisation into chaos, after which the scheme will be scrapped.  Luckily, in this case, the devices are apparently only being rented, so hopefully the cost of the project will be small.  In any event all will be revealed eventually as the cost of the scheme will be totally transparent now that corruption has been eliminated.

[dcnx]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Dear tourists and expats.  We have a device we would like you to wear during your stay in the country - for your own safety of course!

If you remember, they talked about a bracelet for us a year or two ago and it fizzled away, as most things do here. But if it’s good enough for Thai ex-cons, it’s good enough for the foreigners.

 

It would be entertaining to see how many desperate foreigners would wear that so they could stay.