Lee Su-jeong "Criminals' Human Rights? Why Are Victims' Rights Not Protected... Doubts About the Effectiveness of Electronic Ankle Bracelets"

Professor Lee Su-jeong of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University is giving a lecture at the 2021 First Half Special Education on Gender Sensitivity, Sexual Harassment, and Violence Prevention held on the afternoon of May 11 at the Multipurpose Hall of Seoul City Hall.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter So-Young Kim] Professor Soo-Jung Lee of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University criticized the electronic monitoring device (electronic ankle bracelet) system, saying it is "a system that fundamentally raises doubts about whether the measures we have taken are effective."

In an interview on the 30th with MBC Radio's 'Pyo Chang-won's News High Kick,' Professor Lee stated, "About 300 people have reoffended with sexual assault despite wearing electronic ankle bracelets over the past five years," criticizing the system.

Previously, Kang, a 14-time offender, killed a woman in her 40s at his home on the 26th, cut off his electronic ankle bracelet, and fled. Then, on the 29th, he lured a woman in her 50s, whom he knew, into his car and killed her. On that day around 8 a.m., he drove the victim's car, with the body inside, to Songpa Police Station and surrendered.

Professor Lee said, "It appears to be a verified result that electronic ankle bracelets generally reduce recidivism rates," but added, "The problem is that it is a system with limitations that makes it difficult to suppress reoffending for all sex offenders. This has already been proven regardless of this case."

She pointed out that the suspect in this case, Kang (56), was assessed as having a high risk of reoffending according to the Korean Sexual Offender Risk Assessment Scale, saying, "The effectiveness of probation administration for risk management actually raises serious doubts."

She continued, "He was designated as a basic livelihood security recipient and received state subsidies, and in line with rehabilitation protection work, he also found a job in the cosmetics industry. Despite receiving various services from the state to the extent that he could live independently economically, he committed such a horrific act," explaining, "This fundamentally raises doubts about whether the existing electronic monitoring system can suppress reoffending."

She also said, "Even though the police responded to the scene while he was killing two women, the problem was that they could not enter. The field officers had no way to know even his criminal record. If they had known he was a 14-time offender with a history of threatening women's lives, why wouldn't the police have entered his residence? The issue is that they could not access that information." It was revealed that the police visited Kang's home but did not conduct a search inside because they lacked a search warrant and had no legal grounds to forcibly enter.

She added, "It is not that the police cannot fundamentally check criminal records. Police officers authorized in the computer network, especially senior officers in the criminal division, can access them. The problem is that the officers who respond on-site are from the local police center," emphasizing, "Even lower-ranking officers with limited authority who respond on-site should be able to view criminal record information through KICS."

She further argued, "It seems to be a blind spot in risk management that on-site investigators cannot access criminal record information. This should be corrected through legislation."

She mentioned the necessity of introducing a protective custody system. The protective custody system is a system where heinous and habitual offenders live in a separate state-managed facility for a certain period after release, rather than in prison. Although it has been proposed several times, it has not been realized due to concerns about human rights violations of criminals and the risk of double punishment.

Professor Lee said, "Whenever the human rights of criminals are discussed, what I always want to counter is that there should be an explanation as to why the human rights of the two deceased women were not protected," adding, "If offenders could live freely as electronic monitoring subjects during the day and stay in a custody facility only at night, supervision and management could be much more effective."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.