(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- District authorities in one southern Chinese city have brought in blockchain-based bracelets to track people on probation, parole or undertaking community service for minor offenses. 

The Changcheng district of Foshan in Guangdong province officially rolled out the initiative -- the first in China -- at the end of last month following a five-month trial, Yicai Global has learned. The use of the incorruptible digital ledger will help to root out any abuses of the system and can also provide better management of offenders, Liang Zixin, the district's judicial bureau director, said in an interview.

Using blockchain technology in correcting offenders helps those recently coming out of prison to "prove their innocence" and make a smooth return to society, Liang added. Realizing the project was much more difficult than first imagined, he added. 

"At first, the relevant parties did not support us," Liang said. But from the start he was optimistic about the system and used his leverage within government to communicate with different departments to promote the system's use. After several months of effort, Chancheng district managed to collect data from relevant departments on miscreants.

"It has been a tough process," Liang said. "There were a lot of barriers in retrieving the data and information from different departments."
The district contracted 21Vianet Broad Band Data Center following a competitive tender. The Beijing-based data and network services company built a platform based on government requirements. The pilot started in May.

Past supervision of people who commit misdemeanors mainly involved hearing reports and checking archived materials, a process that was prone to inaccuracies and was time consuming. The new platform can track an offender's activity through the smart bracelet and monitors behavior through big data and the Internet of Things, giving accurate and real-time control of the whole process.

Liang said that thanks to the system, an offender's records are authentic and cannot be tampered with, effectively eliminating interference and corruption.

Information from the platform is also shared with authorized parties such as banks, insurers, telecoms providers, railway operators, while employers can also access data on the offender's social credit score from the local justice bureau.

Liang told Yicai Global that the platform is an open and progressive system, which will be modified, supplemented and improved according to key issues related to social governance.

"We will build an all-round, multi-dimensional comprehensive information system of supervision and correction with the platform to promote effective good social order and maintain social harmony and stability," he said.

Editor: William Clegg