Insufficient Electronic Bracelets in Armenia: Additional Devices Worth 140 Million Drams to Be Purchased

In Armenia, 776 defendants are monitored through electronic surveillance devices by the Probation Service. Since 2023, alternative measures such as house arrest or administrative monitoring have been applied to this number of citizens.

The government of Armenia presented this statistic while expressing concern that the state-procured "bracelets" may not suffice in the near future. According to official statistics, in 2023, 661 electronic surveillance devices were acquired, of which 445 were used for house arrest and 216 for administrative monitoring.

In 2024, 184 devices were acquired, with 63 designated for house arrest and 121 for administrative control. Out of these, 115 are already occupied, as courts have issued 115 rulings for alternative measures since January 1 (82 for house arrest and 33 for administrative monitoring).

The government fears that the remaining 69 devices will only suffice for a maximum of three months, leading to an urgency to purchase new devices due to the increasing dynamics of court rulings applying alternative measures.

During today's meeting, the government approved a decision to allocate 140.1 million drams from the reserve fund to the Ministry of Justice for the purchase of an additional 221 electronic surveillance devices (127 for house arrest and 94 for administrative monitoring). It should be noted that information published on the government’s website indicates that the widespread use of electronic surveillance devices is attributed to the increasing instances of courts applying alternative measures.