Prosecution Service to use electronic surveillance to reduce domestic violence risks

Electronic surveillance of those charged with domestic violence will be used in Georgia to reduce the risk of recurring crimes, the Prosecution Service of Georgia announced on Tuesday. 

The move comes as part of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code initiated by the state body, which seek to decrease the use of imprisonment for all categories of crime and create an “effective enforcement mechanism” to provide “greater protection” for victims of domestic crimes.

Submitted to the Service’s partner agencies and organisations earlier today, the amendments will be followed by “further steps” in the direction, the body said.

A discussion over the proposed changes was held during a meeting attended by state representatives from Georgian ministries, the Parliament, the United States Embassy and the United Nations Women organisation.

The Prosecution Service said discussion of the project would also continue with the involvement of a “wider community”.

Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria called femicide statistics in the country “still alarming” in December last year, noting 13 women had been killed between January-September 2021, with signs of domestic violence in five of the cases.