On November 6, 2026, the Senate adopted an amendment to the Criminal Enforcement Code expanding the scope of application of the Electronic Monitoring System (EMO). The law, prepared by the Ministry of Justice, enables a larger number of convicts to serve the final part of their prison sentence outside the walls of a prison facility. The main goal of the reform is to relieve the prison infrastructure, reduce public expenditure, and increase the effectiveness of the resocialization process by allowing convicts to maintain contact with their families and professional environment.
Change in Time Limits and Costs
The key change introduced by the amendment is the extension of the time limit for persons sentenced to terms of less than three years. Previously, the possibility of applying for EMO covered cases where a maximum of six months remained until the end of the sentence. According to the new provisions, this threshold is raised to one year and six months. Persons sentenced to terms not exceeding one year and six months retain the right to apply to serve their entire sentence under electronic monitoring, which remains unchanged.
The economic rationale for the reform is based on significant differences in the costs of maintaining convicts. Data for 2025 indicates that the average monthly cost of a person's stay in a prison facility was 6,929.98 PLN. For comparison, the monthly cost of serving a sentence under EMO is approximately 1,511.40 PLN. Thanks to this, wider use of the system will allow for a significant reduction in state budget expenditure, which can be allocated to other areas, such as prevention or education, as savings.
Mechanism of Action and Statistics
The Electronic Monitoring System has been operational in Poland since September 2009. According to data as of November 6, 2026, 5,647 persons are serving sentences under EMO. Since the system's launch, a total of 232,575 convicts have been covered by it. The mechanism is based on electronic control using transmitters and monitoring devices. The convict is obligated to stay in a specified location, most often their own apartment, with the possibility of leaving it during designated hours – e.g., for work, education, or fulfilling family obligations.
Expanding the system does not mean the automatic release of prisoners to freedom. In each case, the decision is made by a penitentiary court or penitentiary committee, taking into account the fulfillment of statutory conditions. Among the criteria considered are: having a permanent place of residence, the technical possibility of installing devices, the consent of co-residents (in the case of adults), and the convict's previous behavior. This solution is of an exceptional, not standard, nature, which guarantees the maintenance of appropriate supervision.
Exclusions and Entry into Force of Provisions
The law also introduces clear exclusions. The EMO cannot be used, among others, by offenders guilty of multiple recidivism and professional or organized crime. Convicts do not pay fees for filing an application or for serving a sentence in the electronic system itself.
The new provisions will enter into force after the expiry of six months from the date of the publication of the law in the Journal of Laws. Deputy Minister of Justice Maria Ejchart emphasized that the penal system must be fair but also proportional. Keeping a convict in contact with society while simultaneously imposing obligations and controls on them is intended to limit the negative effects of isolation and reduce the risk of returning to a path of crime.