Electronic tagging introduced

11th September 2009

Poland has introduced a high-tech system of monitoring convicted criminals in the hope of cutting costs as well as giving judges another type of punishment.


From September 1 about 500 prisoners in the Warsaw area have had the option of serving out the rest of their sentences with an electronic tag on their leg instead of sitting behind bars.

If successful, authorities intend to have the whole of Poland covered by the system come 2012.

“The program will cut costs of imprisonment, which will positively influence the state budget. Monthly costs for monitoring a prisoner with the tag system amount to about 100 zloty while holding a prisoner in a cell costs about a lot more – about 2 ...