By Harriette Halepis
Moscow, December 29, 2009 — In many corners of the world, criminals are now facing a new kind of house arrest that includes GPS tracking technology. This technology allows law enforcement officials to track a criminal’s every move, which often leads to a reduction in crime.
Russians Embrace GPS Tracking
Recently, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has approved a bill that will allow courts to rule that those placed under house arrest wear GPS tracking bracelets. This is a new way of enforcing the law within Russia, and it’s one that many hope will change the way Russian criminals act and behave while under house arrest.
Courts wishing to place criminals under house arrest will have two different tracking options. The first includes a tracking device that simply sends a signal to a local police station. The second involves a GPS tracking bracelet that includes all the modern GPS tracking capabilities - electronic “fence,” high alerts, and computer enabled map tracking.
As many other countries are quickly discovering, placing criminals under house arrest with the aid of a GPS tracking device is both efficient and intelligent. Not only will criminals be less likely to roam outside of a designated area, but police officers will also have a better chance of capturing an escaped house arrest criminals.
The bill (which was passed by the Russian parliament) will be put into effect beginning on January 10, 2010. While Russian house arrest criminals may have had many opportunities to escape in the past, the dawn of the GPS tracker is about to change the Russian court system for good.
