ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF PRISONERS AND OFFENDERS: A COMPARATIVE APPLICATION OF BULGARIAN AND ALBANIAN LEGISLATION

Абстракт

Electronic monitoring has become one of the most important instruments through which contemporary criminal justice systems seek to reduce unnecessary deprivation of liberty while preserving public safety, procedural compliance and the authority of judicial decisions. This study examines the legal architecture of electronic monitoring in Bulgaria and Albania, with particular attention to its application to prisoners, probationers, persons under house arrest and persons whose movement is restricted by a judicial decision. The Bulgarian model is analysed through the Law on the Execution of Punishments and Detention in Custody, the Criminal Procedure Code and the implementing regulation on electronic monitoring. The Albanian model is analysed through Law No. 10 494 of 22 December 2011, the probation framework and the institutional role of the Probation Service and the State Police. In addition to the comparative legal analysis, the study integrates an empirical questionnaire administered to 200 professionals, including 130 employees of penitentiary institutions and 70 employees of the Probation Service. The findings show a high professional acceptance of electronic monitoring as an alternative to imprisonment, but also identify insufficient technical capacity, partial training, lack of uniform protocols and the need for stronger legal and institutional safeguards. The study argues that electronic monitoring should not be treated as a merely technical substitute for imprisonment. Its legitimacy depends on legality, proportionality, risk assessment, data protection, rehabilitation-oriented supervision and independent control.