E-Monitoring System by E-Bracelet as an Alternative to Freedom-Deprivation Punishments: A Comparative Study
Dr. Rashid Hamed Al Bulushi
Associate Professor of Criminal Law
and Former Dean Faculty of Law
Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman
Abstract:
The International Community, through United Nations conferences on crime prevention and dealing with criminals, has been concerned with treating problems related to the criminal justice system, including the failure of penal institutions to reform convicts. Criminal jurisprudence has tended to call for the application of punishments that are alternatives to imprisonment, in particular, and alternatives to short-term freedom-deprivation punishments. Electronic monitoring through continuous broadcasting of electronic bracelets is considered one of the most important alternatives to freedom-deprivation punishments in comparative criminal law and is practiced by some criminal legislations, such as French law, Algerian law and Emirati Law.
This research will shed light on the advantages of electronic monitoring through continuous broadcasting by the electronic bracelet as an alternative to imprisonment for both the accused and society. One of the most prominent advantages of these alternatives is the protection of the accused’s right to reform, which is advocated by the general principles of human rights. According to these alternatives, the accused will not be placed in penal institutions: on the contrary, he will be re-merged into society.
The researcher has adopted the descriptive-analytical approach, by shedding light on electronic monitoring as a modern punitive approach to execute the freedom-deprivation punishment outside prisons. He also adopted the comparative approach by reviewing the experiences of some leading countries in the field of applying the electronic monitoring system in general, and the electronic monitoring by continuous broadcasting through the electronic bracelet in particular.
The research is divided into an introduction, a preliminary topic and two major topics. The first topic deals with the nature of electronic monitoring and the legal nature of this system. The second topic deals with electronic monitoring through continuous broadcasting made by the electronic bracelet. At the end of the research, the researcher presented the results and recommendations he concluded in the research. The most important results are that electronic monitoring is considered one of the most important innovative alternatives to imprisonment. Furthermore, the electronic bracelet is considered one of the most prominent scientific development applications in the field of punitive justice. The research recommended the need to benefit from international experiences in the field of applying electronic monitoring in general and electronic monitoring through the electronic bracelet in particular. The French Law No. 97–1109 of 1997 and the United Arab Emirates’ Criminal Procedures Law 17/2019 are considered models with regard to electronic monitoring through electronic bracelets, taking into account the cultural and social specificity of each society.
Keywords: alternatives to imprisonment, police monitoring, electronic monitoring, electronic bracelet.