Electronic anklets set to track sex offenders

The Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that 53 repeat sex offenders will wear electronic anklets after they are paroled from 22 jails today.

Those will be the first sex crime ex-cons to wear the anklets after the National Assembly approved the measure in April in an attempt to strengthen punishment for sex crimes as well as make it easier to monitor offenders and prevent repeat violence. Ministry officials said that the anklets will be attached from two months to up to five months. “Of the 53 people to be released, 27 are living in the metropolitan areas, including Seoul, Suwon, Seongnam, Bucheon and Ansan,” said ministry official Kim Yeong-geun. “The nation’s second largest city Busan also has six people who will wear the anklet.”

The ministry also said it will attach anklets to one-time convicts whose victims are children younger than 13. Those convicted of assault or rape against a minor will be also ordered to serve at least five years in prison, up from the previous three-year minimum. The anklet will remain in place for up to 10 years after the offender is released from prison. According to officials, while wearing the anklets, the offenders will be monitored by officers 24 hours a day.

To operate the new system, the ministry enlisted 100 officers from the country’s 45 probation and parole offices, including 12 in Seoul. The government paid 9.7 billion won to develop the tracking system. If a sex offender tries to remove an anklet, it will sound an alarm in the control center.

Today’s release of convicts will be followed by others. Officials say 250 more sex criminals will wear the anklets by the end of the year. By this time next year, an average of 1,300 sex offenders will be wearing the anklets. Courts have the right to determine whether or not the sex offenders wear the anklets. The anklet, however, will not be attached to sex offenders under the age of 19.

By Park Sang-woo Staff Reporter [spark@joongang.co.kr]