Ministry of Corrections of Georgia:
How do authorities supervise inmates on home detention?
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How does the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia supervise and manage inmates serving time in home detention?
Today a group of diplomatic corps and media representatives saw first-hand how the Ministry remotely controlled juvenile inmates from the newly established Electric Monitoring Centre of the National Probation Agency.
Corrections Minister Kakha Kakhishvili told the group how technology and resources allowed the centre to monitor the behaviour of the young criminals without sending them to prison.
The Minister said home detention was a good tool to use as it allowed convicted citizens to continue living in society but with extra conditions and monitoring by authorities.
The Electronic Monitoring Centre works under the National Probation Agency of the Ministry of Corrections. Photo by Ministry of Corrections.
Georgia introduced home detention in January 1, 2016. Kakhishvili said the Corrections Ministry planned to reduce the number of people in prison by increasing the number of inmates on home detention – minors and adults – in capital Tbilisi and all over the country.
Kakhishvili said home detention was a good tool for people who committed minor crimes. He stressed this would not jeopardise public safety as the inmates would be monitored closely. Inmates on house arrest are allowed to continue their lives under careful guard, without the need of post-prison resocialisation.
The Corrections Ministry now planned to upgrade its technology and purchase a special server that allowed the Electric Monitoring Centre to monitor 1,000 inmates on home detention simultaneously.
At the Centre today the invited visitors were able to see craft items made by prisoners at a special wood processing plant located in one of the prisons. Inmates were paid to carry out their jobs, as the Ministry planned to sell their creations and wood production.
Diplomats at the Electronic Monitoring Centre. Photo by the Ministry of Corrections.
Kakhishvili said this approach to offer inmates’ jobs helped them to utilise their skills so when they left prison they would have a talent that could assist them in finding a job.
The guests agreed Georgia had made progress by modernising its justice system, and the country was now one of the leaders in the region in this regard.
Life imprisonment for juveniles is now prohibited in Georgia. The country has a new Juvenile Justice Code that meets international standards.
Georgia’s new Juvenile Justice Code is being applauded by international experts for its innovative ways to address youth crime and rehabilitate young offenders.
Today Justice Minister of Georgia Thea Tsulukiani said the youth offenders law had become a topic of conversation in eastern European countries but now western, developed countries "are also interested in our innovative approaches in this field”.
All criminal cases in Georgia involving minors will soon be handled by police officers, investigators, prosecutors and judges who specialise in juvenile offending.
A new website was launched where prisoners can advertise and sell their goods.
For the first time in Georgia’s history inmates serving in correctional facilities could be given the chance to get a tertiary degree.
Georgia’s Acting Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili told Parliament that the Ministry of Corrections planned to build a new prison for young offenders aged 14-21 years, through the recommendation and support of the European Union (EU).
Tbilisi's Shota Rustaveli State Drama Theatre hosted a play staged and performed by Georgian inmates, with officials, family members and other inmates in the audience of the venue earlier today.
From now on the Ministry of Corrections will send convicts for different crimes in separate cells.
Open Society Georgia has released a report on how Georgia has fought torture and inhuman treatment in prisons over the course of the last five years.
Georgia’s Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili says that the ministry plans to carry out unprecedented reforms in 2018 to encourage employment in prisoners that will lead to a decrease of prison terms.
Georgia’s Ministry of Corrections intends to ask parliament to award tax privileges and other allowances to businesses that open enterprises in prisons.
The Georgian Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani has evaluated the outcomes of a rehabilitation program initiated by her five years ago, titled Rehabilitation and Resocialization Program for Former Prisoners.
The latest Council of Europe survey for mortality rates amongst inmates ranks Georgia as the fifth lowest.
The Georgian Minister of Corrections Kakhi Kakhishvili has told the Georgian media that he intends to initiate a draft in parliament to restrict "undesired” phone calls by inmates to ex-wives or wives, if the women address the ministry with such a request.
The acting Minister of Corrections of Georgia Kakha Kakhishvili told lawmakers today that a project has been prepared which envisages the building of small prisons in Georgia, which will house 500 prisoners each.
The Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated at today’s briefing that he has appointed former Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili as the new head of the government administration.
The Georgian Goju-ryu [the main traditional Okinawan style] karate and the basketball federations have gotten involved in a project of the Georgian Justice Ministry which aims to help juvenile convicts in three prisons of Georgia gain new skills.
A bill presented by the Georgian Dream ruling party MPs allows inmates to receive a Master’s degree while in prison as the current law regulates the conditions and procedures only for Bachelor’s degree.“The current law, with the involvement of the Ministry of Education and Justice, offers procedures and conditions only for the Bachelor’s degree for inmates. There are no rules for a Master’s degree,” says the bill.
Georgia has one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe, show annual statistics on prisons by the Council of Europe.
Fully vaccinated convicts or suspects will be allowed to use the right to long visits starting September 27, the Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia stated earlier today.