As side-effects of imprisonment sentenced traditionally are embossed, emphasis of criminal justice policy is gradually moving from the treatment in corrective facilities to the treatment in the society. This phenomenon came from the rapidly increasing...
As side-effects of imprisonment sentenced traditionally are embossed, emphasis of criminal justice policy is gradually moving from the treatment in corrective facilities to the treatment in the society. This phenomenon came from the rapidly increasing crimes caused by rapid social changing, development of culture and science, claims for the guarantee of human rights and the increasing participation due to the maturity of the democratic society, introduction and adoption of advanced techniques from foreign countries due to the international cooperation to reduce crimes. In the center of this qualitative development, there are treatments in the society such as probation order, community service order and attendance center order, and the electronic monitoring discussed actively these days.
The electronic monitoring is a criminal punishment by putting convicts under house arrest and supervising them using electronic devices instead of imprisoning them. Benefits of this system are saving expenses for imprisonment, reduce the density of corrective facilities, reducing problems occurred by the brand iron of ex-convict, and smoother resocialization by living with family. On the other hand, it is criticized that punishment is too light, that it can offend the privacy of the convicts and their family and that it can cause mistreating family.
Therefore we should not accept the foreign systems without criticism in adopting the electronic monitoring and this system should harmonize with legal sentiment of normal people. An important issue concerned with this system is how much this system should supervise convicts because it is true that this system which are scientific techniques can control human thoroughly. This means that the dignity of human, rights of equality and protecting privacy can be offended. The electronic monitoring cannot be firmly established without a secure guarantee of solutions for these problems. The electronic monitoring can carry out resocialization because it can substitute imprisoning convicts in corrective facilities with liming freedom or ordering community service. However the fact that we should find the harmony between supervisors and convicts which can be offended by the resocializaion of supervisors and this harmony can be variable depending on social situation can cause difficulties of establishing this system.
The electronic monitoring is originally a procedure of securing public peace and more or less can be a punishing methods at the same time. So the characteristic of this system can be varied depending on which stage of criminal case this is applied in. In other words, the electronic monitoring can play a part in an additional condition of probation, a procedure of securing public peace or punishment itself. Now, this system is prescribed not as a criminal punishment but as a supervising system certain convicts by Korean law. It is defined as a procedure of securing public peace for ex-convicts, which is different from the fact that it is generally prescribed as an additional condition such as house arrestment or curfew. It is also defined as an additional condition of confirming observance matters when parolees or people on probation are probated. This seems to be a special method which avoid violating human rights which can be caused by the electronic monitoring.
The electronic monitoring is still being developed rather than is accomplished firmly throughout the world. Especially, issues such as legitimacy of this system, to whom to apply this system and the question whether this system can protect the society from criminals are not proved yet in the countries which operate this system for a long time. However it is certain that this system should not be a system or a method which just strengthen controlling function of the government. Therefore, the problems that occur during operating this system must be researched and complemented. Especially, the issue on limiting the fundamental rights must be discussed in terms of a constitution.