Application and Innovation of Electronic Monitoring in Chinese Criminal Justice

In the field of criminal justice, electronic monitoring technology has experienced the development of four generations of technology: fixed telephone, radio frequency tag, Global Positioning System, and biometrics. Today, Chinese criminal justice practice adopts a monitoring method based on cell phone positioning, supplemented by electronic anklets. The "Non-custodial Code monitoring system " is an innovative achievement of Hangzhou, China's judicial personnel on electronic monitoring, which has achieved good practical results and will be promoted nationwide. As an effective criminal measure, electronic monitoring reduces the number of detainees in prison, eases the supervision pressure on judicial personnel, reduces financial expenditures, and helps criminals rejoin society. Due to the lack of detailed legal provisions, the application of electronic monitoring in practice lacks specificity, and there is the possibility of violating the privacy of citizens. So electronic monitoring in China's criminal justice presents such a situation. On the one hand, the law clearly states that electronic monitoring can be applied only during the community correctional stage and the period of residential confinement. On the other hand, judicial officers actively try to apply electronic monitoring to the bail process. It is foreseeable that electronic monitoring will be widely promoted in the process of China's criminal justice reform. This process should adhere to the principles of legality, necessity, and judicial review.