On August 29th, 2021, a man wearing an electronic anklet killed one woman before and one woman after cutting off the electronic anklet in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Although the man was wearing an electronic anklet, his murders were not prevented, and additional crimes occurred because the police did not respond quickly enough. As such, the problem of damaging electronic anklets continues to occur. In 2019 and 2020, 21 and 13 criminals cut their electronic anklets off, respectively, and by August of this year, a total of 13 criminals have done so. Although the electronic anklet system has been supplemented six times since its introduction in 2008, it is still insufficient. Therefore, the electronic anklet system should not be left as it is now.
The electronic anklet system was first introduced in September 2008 with the aim of preventing the recidivism of certain criminals. However, since its introduction, criminals have frequently cut their electronic anklets off and fled. Electronic anklets have undergone a total of six changes so far, but they are still insufficient to prevent crime. The reason for this problem is that first of all, there are still many criminals wearing old model electronic anklets that are not strong enough. Since 2018, electronic anklets have been equipped with 4G communication networks and precision GPS chips to enhance location tracking. The new electronic anklet introduced in 2020 has enhanced durability making the strap seven layers thicker than the previous model, which was a flat-bed stainless steel plate. However, in fact, on September 10th, a staff of the Ministry of Justice said in a UPI news interview, "There are still criminals wearing the old version of electronic anklets. I can't say exactly for security reasons, but some criminals are inevitably using the old version because of different device characteristics." Despite the improvements in the materials and functions of the electronic anklet, there is no meaning to the improvement if criminals don’t wear it. The Ministry of Justice needs to apply the supplemented electronic anklet to all criminals. Furthermore, electronic anklets clearly have limitations. It is impossible to know the exact behavior of the criminal only through the electronic anklet. We can only know the location information. Except when an alarm rings due to damage of electronic anklets or access to victims and child protection zones, the probation officer usually judges the criminals’ behavior subjectively. This is why cooperation with related agencies such as the police is needed along with electronic anklets. In fact, Lee Yoon-ho, a professor of the College of Police and Criminal Justice at Dongguk University, pointed out, "The main function of electronic anklets is, in fact, dependent on location information. […] Therefore, it is important to establish a real-time information sharing and collaboration system with the police.” In addition to improving the material and function of electronic anklets, the Ministry of Justice should supplement these limitations by strengthening the cooperative system with the police.
Despite repeated improvements and supplementations, electronic anklets continue to cause several problems. Since the material and function of electronic anklets have been improved, criminals should be required to wear the new electronic anklets, not the old ones. In addition, since electronic anklets do not show specific behavior of criminals, a cooperation system with related agencies should be further strengthened. If a system appears to be insufficient, it should be examined and improved for the future. Only endless interest and improvement will solve the problem and increase the crime prevention effect of electronic anklets.