Jeddah: The Saudi Ministry of the Interior says newly released prisoners who pose a threat to society will be electronically tagged.
The surveillance method will be adopted as and when the law on alternative penalties is approved. Lt. Col. Majed Al Saeed, Executive Director of the Electronic Surveillance Project, said this is to ensure that the convicted person will serve the terms of his sentence.
From leg to control room
The electronic device attached to the convict's leg will restrict the movement of the prisoner. The device is linked to a control room and it tracks the location of the individual through wireless frequencies and GPS technologies," Al Saeed told reporters on Wednesday ..
One of the main aims of the system is to reduce the number of prisoners in Saudi jails. Electronic tagging will also be used on prisoners who are granted humanitarian leave from prison to visit a patient or attend funeral services.
The system is widely used in the United States. The project was started in 1980 to reduce the numbers in America's overcrowded prisons.
Today, over 100,000 prisoners have benefited from early release. And in the United Kingdom over 60,000 prisoners have benefited from early release since the system was launched there in 1989
