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EL ESPECTADOR

New Geolocation System To Track Paroled Prisoners In Real Time

Extra-surveillance, inside a Colombian prison
Extra-surveillance, inside a Colombian prison
Mary Luz Avendaño

MEDELLIN Crimes being committed by some of Colombia's 38,000 convicts on prison leave have become an almost "daily headache," with some returning to a life of lawlessness despite wearing electronic tags or bracelets.

The need to keep closer tabs on prisoners who have been granted leave has led two prison authority (INPEC) employees and a policeman to create software allowing inmates to be located anywhere, in real time. It is apparently the first such application in Latin America, and it is intended to complement the existing tagging system, allowing police and prison authorities to view the same information at the same time.

"On the map, you can see all of INPEC's geo-referenced locations," says one of the inventors, INPEC employee Alba López Torres. "With a click, you can view the basic information on the inmate, his or her exact location, the ID number, date of arrest, and his or her photo."

She says police can download the application on any of their systems to see who is in which parts of town, complete with their full criminal IDs. The application is set to be tested in Medellín, where there have been 61 recividist incidents in 2014.

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Society

French Protests: Risk Of A "Yellow Vest" Rerun

The pushing through of a bill to raise the retirement age in France has caused widespread, sometimes violent, protests. The government is worried the movement will spread, as unions warn the protests are just beginning.

Image of a protester wearing a yellow vest and holding a smoke bomb near a fire started during a protest.

A 'Yellow Vest' protester holds a smoke bomb during a demonstration in the Place de la Concorde.

Grégoire Poussielgue

-Analysis-

PARIS — The peaceful ambiance last month of anti-government demonstrations in France has given way to something else. But what exactly is the new nature of the protests? Are we witnessing the emergence of a social movement destined to last, and paralyze the country like the so-called "yellow vests" five years ago?

Since last Thursday, when the French government passed a bill on pension reform increasing retirement age from 62 to 64, President Emmanuel Macron and his government have been facing a new form of protest. It is more radical, sometimes more violent, but also more diffuse and especially uncontrollable.

In Paris, after two evenings of "wild" demonstrations, people were forbidden from gathering and protesting at Place de la Concorde, one of the city's major public squares, on Saturday evening and the area was placed under heavy police surveillance. The problem was only averted because another demonstration took place in another square, Place d'Italie, leading to clashes with the police.

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