Proposal for inmates to have video calls with their families and notes for effective implementation

The Police Department for Prison Management, Compulsory Education Institutions, and Reformatory Schools (Ministry of Public Security) has just issued a draft Circular detailing the regime of meeting, receiving gifts and contacting prisoners.

In the draft Circular in Clause 2, Article 12, there are regulations on video and audio communication between prisoners and relatives.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Dao Trung Hieu - a criminology expert - said that for this policy to be effectively implemented in practice, it is necessary to pay attention to some important issues.

First of all, it is necessary to build a clear management and supervision process for video calls. The entire communication process should be carried out on a system of equipment managed by the prison and have a mechanism to record and control the content exchanged to prevent the abuse of communication to commit illegal acts.

In addition, there needs to be a classification of prisoners when applying this policy. Prisoners with good reform processes, strict compliance with regulations, and low risk of recidivism should be prioritized for wider application.

Meanwhile, for some groups of inmates related to organized crime or particularly serious crimes, communication needs to be more closely controlled.

In addition, the implementation should also be linked to the digital transformation process in criminal judgment enforcement management. If organized methodically, the online communication system can become part of the "smart prison" model, contributing to improving management efficiency and reducing pressure on the current direct visit system.

The implementation of this regulation depends on both objective conditions and subjective factors," Mr. Hieu said.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of a legal expert, Dr. Dang Van Cuong (Hanoi Bar Association) believes that adding the regulation that prisoners can call their relatives directly by video calling is completely reasonable and in line with the development of science and technology.

Reality shows that in prisons, when carrying out visit procedures, there are many families of inmates coming to carry out procedures, many people travel very far, are in difficult circumstances, and travel very hard... Many people just want to see their loved ones, the meeting time is also short, and there is not much time to talk.

Therefore, if phone calls with images are allowed, it will save time and costs for the inmate's relatives. This online meeting will create motivation for inmates to strive to be ranked as having good and good conduct, alleviating sadness and longing for the inmate's relatives.

The above regulation is consistent with the development of society, creating conditions for prisoners to have the opportunity to strive and show humanity," Mr. Cuong said.

Regarding the deployment of content for inmates to video call their families, according to lawyer Dang Van Cuong, the regulations of the draft Circular are relatively complete. However, when organizing implementation, it is necessary to supervise the organization of implementation, avoiding taking advantage of communication information to propagate false, negative, and illegal content...

It is necessary to stipulate standard criteria, fully, strictly and accurately assess the conditions for implementing online participation activities.

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