14.05.09

The use of alternative ways of punishment is highly topical for Russia, Director of the Federal Service for Prisons and Penitentiaries Yuri Kalinin told Itar-Tass.

He had visited the United Kingdom to discuss the issue, primarily electronic monitoring of convicts, with British colleagues.

The electronic monitoring experiment is progressing well in the Voronezh region within the framework of the European Union program, Kalinin said.

The use of electronic bracelets "has brought the first positive results and we intend to expand this experiment," he noted. "Some of the convicts may be corrected with alternative punishment, such as stricter monitoring and wear of electronic bracelets."

A domestic electronic bracelet has been designed, Kalinin said. The gadget works on radio frequencies and in the Glonass satellite navigation system, which is welcomed by the EU and is very important for Russia, he noted.

Russia has made certain progress in the introduction of alternative ways of punishment and the assistance to former convicts, Kalinin said. That assistance is part of the probation system, he noted.

A number of criminal offenses may soon be defined as administrative in Russia, Kalinin said. Apart from alleviating punishment for certain types of misdemeanors, Russia is enhancing measures against certain felonies, including pedophilia. It is also necessary to tighten punishment for drug-related crimes, Kalinin said.

Each year over 1,500 persons convicted for sex crimes against children are released from custody.

The State Duma thinks that all of them should be under surveillance authorized by court. "The surveillance period will last from one to three years and possibly include the wearing of electronic bracelets," Chairman of the State Duma Security Committee Vladimir Vasilyev said.

"Probation of individuals convicted for sex crimes against children will be part of preventive measures, as about 40% of ex-cons perpetrate new crimes," he noted. "We intend to follow the example of European countries and the United States where neighbors are notified of the place of residence of convicted pedophiles."

Meanwhile, the Russian Justice Ministry and a number of other agencies are drafting amendments to criminal laws, which will reduce the number of inmates at prisons and penitentiaries, Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said.

"In all, suggested amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Code of Practice are bound to humanize the penitentiary system. For instance, a number of insignificant misdemeanors will be excluded from the Criminal Code, and the Administrative Code will be used more actively," he said.

"It is also necessary to reconsider the need for incarceration of certain categories of suspects pending trial," he noted.

"These measures are bound to reduce the prison population of Russia .125as of now, Russian prisons and penitentiaries have over 800,000 inmates.375," the minister said.

"It is important to separate individuals serving their first prison term or having perpetrated minor crimes from hardened criminals, who are unlikely to be corrected. We must not mingle the two groups," the minister said.

He called for appropriate administrative control over ex-convicts and suggested "an analysis of ex-cons' psychological condition and lifestyle."

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office is concerned about the growing number of people in custody, Deputy Prosecutor General Yevgeny Zabarchuk said.

"The unfounded tightening of the punitive policy of the law enforcement mechanism as regards minor and medium crimes is a reason for this growth. About 17,000 people were freed from detention wards last year because of the dropped charges and acquittals," he said.

Sanitary conditions at detention wards are not appropriate, as they have less than four square meters of space per person in 14 regions of Russia.

Zabarchuk reported numerous violations in the release of convicts on parole. The procedure "has become corrupt," he said. Only 20% of convicts are paid for their labor, he said.

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Source: Itar-Tass