September 1 marks the beginning of a new penal program in Poland: five hundred prisoners in the Warsaw area will be monitored by electronic bracelet rather than go to jail.

The bracelets, worn on one’s ankle, are intended for prisoners who have been sentenced to six months behind bars or for a one-year sentence, six months of which would be served in prison as the bracelets are not meant to be worn for more than half a year.

Prisoners who would prefer the electronic monitoring system must submit a request to the regional court system. The bracelets allow justice officials to track a criminal’s movements.

“In the case of an inmate violating the terms of his sentence, for example not being at a particular place or manipulating the monitoring equipment, the Central Monitoring system notates violations and police will take immediate action,” reads a statement on the Ministry of Justice website.

For now, the monitoring program will be rolled out in Warsaw for about 500 inmates. The system will expand throughout the country by 2012 and encompass 7,500 criminals.

“The program will cut costs of imprisonment, which will positively influence the state budget. Monthly costs for monitoring a prisoner with the bracelet system amount to about 100 zloty [about 24 euro] while holding a prisoner in a cell costs about a lot more – about 2,300 zloty [561 euro],” claims a spokesperson from the Justice Ministry.

Currently, about 24,000 people are serving six-month sentences in Poland. (mmj)