Electronic bangle has been applied to over 2000 prisoners registered in Probation Service of the Ministry of Justice in Azerbaijan.
It was informed in Oxu.az-a exclusive interview by the chief of the Probation Service of the Ministry of Justice, Head probation officer of the Republic of Azerbaijan, head justice counsellor Akshin Ziyadov.
- Please, inform about the process of establishment of Probation Institute and its main activity directions.
– Probation Service in Azerbaijan was established under the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the Order of the President Ilham Aliyev on February 10, 2017 “About improvement of penitentiary activity, humanization of punishment policy and enlargement of application of alternative punishment not related isolation form society and procedural compulsory measures”. The positive experience of a number of European countries has been studied and international standards have been taken into account to ensure the effectiveness of the Probation Institute.
According to the new article 15-1 of the Сode of Execution of Punishment, the Probation Service was charged with organization of execution of punishments on fines, deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to engage in certain activities, public works, corrections and restriction of liberty.
In addition, the Service is committed to supervise over the probationers, persons conditionally released before time, whose punishment was suspended, as well as those with compulsory medical treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction (except for imprisonment). In addition, we are engaged in the organization of court-ordered public works in the form of administrative penalties. The Probation Service is also tasked with implementing measures aimed at social adaptation and rehabilitation of prisoners.
Significant innovation in the legislation has been the use of electronic surveillance measures against persons sentenced to liberty restraints, as well as those sentenced conditionally and released conditionally before time. The process began in April
2018, following the government's decision to approve the list and rules of these instruments with regard to prisoners and persons subjected to preventive measures.
- How do you appreciate the works realized last years?
- I would like to remember that, Presidential Decree dated February 10, 2017 emphasized that, widespread use of measure of restraint for crimes that do not pose a major public danger during the preliminary investigation and court proceedings, including those for economic crimes, as well as increase in the dynamics of imprisonment for those crimes will lead to an increase in the number of prisoners and the penitentiary facilities.
Analysis of statistical data shows positive trends in this area and a dynamic increase in the number of convicts within the authority of the Probation Authority. So, compared to 2017, those who registered for Probation Services in 2018 increased by 24 percent. In comparison with the same period of the last year, during the first 9 months of this year, more than 8.2% imprisoners, who were sentenced to non-isolation penalties, were registered. During the first 9 months of this year, such prisoners were registered by 10.7% more than in comparison to the same period last year.
Undoubtedly, the increase in alternative types of punishment, as well as the number of prisoners included in the Probation Register, is not only an indication of the President's initiatives to humanize the state's penal policy, but also a result of increase of belief in an organization providing the effective implementation of verdicts not related deprivation of liberty.
- I heard that, electronic bangles are produced in Azerbaijan.
- Yes, it is. Within a short period of time, international practices regarding the use of these devices, their types, software, their production facilities and maintenance in the country were studied for the purpose of providing electronic monitoring.
As a result, it was decided to produce electronic controls by the local manufacturer, and in January 2018, their testing and piloting was launched. It should be noted that Azerbaijan's electronic bangles are not inferior to their European counterparts for quality.
- Are electronic bangles the only means of controlling persons sentenced to liberty restraint, or are there other methods available?
- Almost all probation programs abroad use this or that type of electronic observation. Remote monitoring to persons by parole is one of the most common methods for reducing the costs of the penitentiary system.
In addition to saving financial resources when implementing alternative rulings, electronic monitoring has a number of advantages: Violators keep jobs, are in the family, and do not lose social ties. Electronic surveillance enables the use of a multi-level system of measures and control to prevent recurrence.
Obviously, the scope of electronic control can be expanded. In October 2019, we began piloting a new type of electronic devices designed to control convicted persons in public affairs, together with our colleagues from the Department of Information and Communication Technologies of the Ministry of Justice. These devices will be handed over to the inmates who activate it by fingerprint.
Thereafter, the Probation Service’s Electron Monitoring Centre will receive a signal and monitor the convict within the limits of the location for public works, as well as keep an electronic record of the hours worked. In this regard, we have submitted a bill to amend the Criminal Code, Code of Execution of Punishments and Administrative Offenses Code. All this will reduce the load on the law enforcement system, reduce the number of people serving their sentences in prison, and increase the effectiveness and optimization of the penal policy in our country.
- Effective use of e-governance systems is impossible without a single information system.
This system also envisages integration with relevant government information systems and the use of artificial intelligence.
- So how will the Probation Service staff be encouraged?
- I would like to note that, the issues of social protection of justice workers have always been in the focus of the state. Since September 1 of the current year, the government increased salaries of the ministry's employees. In accordance with the State Program for the Development of Justice for 2019-2023, a draft law was introduced to the country's parliament, which envisages a number of comprehensive measures to improve the financial welfare of our employees.
A bill on the establishment of a Probation Service’s Special Fund was proposed to strengthen the social security of the probation staff and the technical support of the structural units. It is proposed that this fund be formed from the deductions paid to the state budget as a result of penalties and corrective actions. I believe that, at the initial stage, positive results have been achieved and the implementation of the goals will contribute to the successful development of the Probation Institute in Azerbaijan.
- November 22 - is a professional holiday of justice officials, and I congratulate you on this occasion.
- Thank you very much. I want to congratulate all my colleagues on the eve of the professional holiday of justice workers in Azerbaijan and wish them success in their works, and I would like to express my surety that, the employees of the Probation Service will to do their best to fulfil the requirements of the country leadership in humanization of punishment policy and in effective organization of execution of punishments not related isolation of prisoners from society.
- Thank you for an interesting interview.
- Thank you.
