Prisons to trial tagging of inmates
A fingerprint scanner and an electronic tagging system are to be introduced this year to help keep track of inmates.
A spokesman for the Correctional Services Department said the scanner would allow fingerprints to be matched with data-bank records and provide a means of verifying a prisoner's identify.
'This system will be installed in most of the penal institutions to facilitate identity checking of the prisoner upon admission, transfer, movement and release,' he said.
But he said more work had to be done in data preparation and retrieval before the system was up and running.
He also said two prisons would test an electronic tagging system, which would enable officers to pinpoint the location of any prisoner.
The proposal, which has been backed by the administrative computer police committee of the Informational Technology and Broadcasting Bureau, is now open for tender.
The closing date for tenders to provide the fingerprinting identification system is January 31.
