The 14th Electronic Monitoring Conference opens in Antalya with participants from 32 countries

The 14th Electronic Monitoring Conference opened in Antalya with 400 participants from 32 countries. The three-day program will address the role of electronic monitoring in criminal justice systems, victim safety, biometric technologies and ethical principles; the conference will end on October 8.

14th Electronic Monitoring Conference opened in Antalya under the theme “Electronic Monitoring in a Changing World: Perception and Reality.” Experts, practitioners, academics and technology representatives working in electronic monitoring from 32 countries attended the conference at the Antalya Education and Social Facility of the Justice Organization Strengthening Foundation.

Speaking at the opening, CEP President Annie Devos said Türkiye had made important contributions to the justice system in the field of prisons and detention. Devos said the aim of the program, attended by 400 people from 32 countries, was to reveal the gap between perception and reality regarding electronic monitoring.

Emphasis on a common framework for electronic monitoring

Devos said electronic monitoring was a technological tool that should be used, and emphasized the importance of integrating its use into the system as a policy. She said efforts were under way to ensure that electronic monitoring tools were used correctly and consistently, adding that the issue needed to be placed within a defined framework.

14. Elektronik İzleme Konferansı Antalya'da 32 ülkeden katılımla başladı

Noting that the world was undergoing rapid transformation, Devos said countries needed to come together, hold discussions and develop common ideas on electronic monitoring. She also stressed that electronic monitoring should be used in accordance with proper procedures and within a defined set of rules.

Use of technology in probation

Director General of Prisons and Detention Facilities Çelebi Yılmaz said the nature of crime was changing, risks were diversifying and societies’ security expectations were becoming different. Yılmaz said technology was providing criminal justice systems with new tools, adding that the enforcement process was not limited to carrying out a sentence.

Yılmaz said accurately assessing risks, identifying needs, conducting supervision effectively and reintegrating individuals into society were the fundamental elements of the enforcement process. The director general said probation was one of the important ways in which this approach was put into practice.

Yılmaz said artificial intelligence, biometric systems and remote monitoring technologies enabled the development of more effective, measurable and needs-oriented practices. Stressing that technology was not an end in itself, Yılmaz said the essential issue was being able to use it for the right person, based on an accurate assessment of needs and to an appropriate extent.

Biometric signature method on the agenda

Yılmaz said the enforcement system of the future needed to be capable of making more accurate decisions, conducting more effective supervision and providing stronger rehabilitation, while also being transparent and measurable. He said work was continuing to develop technological capabilities.

Yılmaz said the biometric signature method, which will be introduced soon, was one example of these efforts. He said the biometric signature system would increase electronic monitoring capacity, adding that the guiding principles of the work were respect for human dignity, the rule of law and public safety.

Workshops and thematic sessions to be held

The three-day conference will address the role of electronic monitoring in criminal justice systems, examples of implementation, victim safety, digital transformation, biometric technologies, ethical principles and proportionality. In addition to plenary sessions, workshops and thematic sessions on various topics will be held as part of the program.

The conference will also evaluate the role of electronic monitoring in preventing violent extremism, victims’ approaches to electronic monitoring, a human-centered understanding of justice in the digital age, and the adaptation of technological innovations to institutional and social structures.

The program aims to share Türkiye’s practices, technical infrastructure and institutional experience in electronic monitoring with international participants. Examining examples of good practices in different countries and following new technological approaches are also among the conference’s objectives.

Following the speeches, Çelebi Yılmaz presented plaques to protocol members. The conference will end on October 8.