Home Ministry asks States to use tracking devices on prison inmates released on parole or leave 

The Union Home Ministry has said States may use tracking devices on prison inmates when they are released on parole.

The Union Home Ministry has said States may use tracking devices on prison inmates when they are released on parole. It also called for segregation of hardened criminals from other category of criminals. 

“The State may use electronic monitoring technology on prisoners under temporary release / leave from prison, by making use of inmate tracking devices,” the suggestion which is part of the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 that was circulated to all States in May said. On Monday, a copy of the Act was for the first time published on the Ministry’s website.

“Prisoners may be granted prison leave on the condition of their willingness to wear electronic tracking devices for monitoring the movement and activities of such prisoners. Any violation by the prisoner will attract cancellation of prison leave, in addition to disqualification from any prison leave being granted in future, as may be prescribed under the rules,” the Act said. 

Earlier this month, the Jammu and Kashmir police introduced GPS tracker anklet for monitoring a terror accused out on bail. 

The Ministry said that the administration and management of prisons was till now regulated by two pre-Independence Acts namely, The Prisons Act 1894 and The Prisoners Act 1900. With the passage of time, many of the provisions of these colonial Acts were found to be outdated and obsolete. It said prisons is a State subject as per the constitutional provisions, and bringing any new legislative instrument in this regard is now in the jurisdiction of the State governments. It said that mindful of the legal position and the significance of prisons in the criminal justice system, the Home Ministry has finalised a comprehensive Act to replace the obsolete and colonial legislation.

The Act said that appropriate and advanced security infrastructure and procedures shall be in place for the high-risk prisoner ward in all central and district prisons. “Such prisons shall also have appropriate provisions for an independent court complex for holding court hearings/trials,” the model Act says. 

The Act said the States shall ensure integration and embedding of appropriate technology for the effective management and superintendence of prisons and for the safety and security of prisons and the inmates, which may include biometrics, CCTV system, scanning and detection devices, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), video conference facilities, etc. in every prison for prisoners to attend court hearings/trials and to provide for seamless biometric access control system for movement of inmates.