OPINION

Keeping criminals off the streets

The phenomenon of long-term convicts committing crimes while on furlough is both recurring and taking on dangerous dimensions.

Greek police forces often come face to face with hardened criminals they have already arrested in the past but who were subsequently granted either early release or furlough thanks to existing legislation. The most recent case involves a multiple murderer who failed to return to prison after a five-day release.

This is why Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis justly referred to the need for the adoption of emergency measures, such as electronic tagging, by which prisoners on furlough can be tracked down.

More changes are necessary, however. Radical changes must be made to existing legislation, while new correctional facilities which have yet to open their doors should be put into use.

We must put an end to the kind of impunity which allows criminals to kill and steal over and over again, even after their arrest and conviction.

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