The Latvian parliament has passed in the final reading amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law, ensuring progress for the option to use electronic bracelets to monitor violent and abusive individuals.
The objective of amendments proposed by the Saeima Legal Affairs Committee is lowering domestic violence and promoting public safety.
Electronic surveillance is an intensive control measure imposed by a court to restrict free movement. To carry out electronic monitoring, an electronic device is attached to the body, allowing authorities to control the person’s location.
The amendments stipulate that a suspected or accused person who is subject to a prohibition to approach a certain person or place, stay at a certain place, be placed under police supervision or house arrest as a security measure, will be subject to continuous electronic monitoring using an electronic device to control compliance with the restrictions. Also, the changes stipulate that the electronic monitoring of the execution of the security measure is applicable
only if there are grounds to believe that the suspect or accused person poses a high risk of violence to another person.
Electronic monitoring as a security measure could be applied to an average of 400 suspects or accused persons per year, according to authors of amendments.
Electronic monitoring will be carried out by the State Police. In turn, in order to determine the procedure by which the said supervision is carried out, it is planned to have the Cabinet of Ministers to compile appropriate regulations.
The draft law was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and the State Police.