Electronic bracelets to help Peru reduce jail congestion

LIMA - The Peruvian government has decided to give electronic bracelets to deserving inmates from 2010 onwards to reduce overcrowding in jails, an official said.

The inmates with the special bracelets will be allowed to complete their sentences from home. The bracelets will allow the officials to monitor the inmates from prisons.

This system will help alleviate the overcrowding of Peruvian jails that house some 48,000 inmates, Justice Minister Aurelio Pastor said in a statement Saturday.

The bracelets will be given to deserving inmates “so that some can stay at home” and from there engage in “their regular activities”, the minister said.

He did not say how many prisoners would benefit from the measure.

In addition, a new prison is being readied to tackle the problem of overcrowding, Pastor said, adding that for the same reason President Alan Garcia is promoting a policy of sentence reductions.

–EFE