Electronic bracelet project aims to give defendants ‘second chance’ — Justice Minister

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Monday agreed to finance a electronic tracking bracelet project to reduce the number of detainees at rehabilitation and reform centres.

The project, an alternative for detention and imprisonment, aims at reducing costs incurred under the budget of the Public Security Department, which stands at JD750 a month per inmate, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The necessary funds for the project will be allocated from the PSD’s 2020 budget. 

Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni said that the electronic bracelet is a device used by the judiciary to avoid detaining people suspected for misdemeanours at rehabilitation and reform centres.  

Talhouni added that the bracelet is a “modern device” and an alternative for detention in “less dangerous” cases that do not affect the security of society, according to Petra.

The minister noted that bracelets will help detainees avoid mixing with convicts, adding that they can help defendants continue their daily lives normally without losing their jobs.  

He added that if a defendant tries to remove the bracelet, it will send a signal to the PSD’s command and control centre, which will notify the nearest patrol of their location. Attempts by defendants to remove the bracelet deprive them of the chance to use it later, the minister stressed.  

 “We are trying to offer alternative solutions to give people a second chance, so we have introduced new methods to rehabilitate people and help them merge with their communities, and the electronic bracelet is one of these solutions,” Talhouni told The Jordan Times.