Baby kidnap sparks tagging debate

THE kidnapping of a three-day old baby from a hospital in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques has reignited the debate over electronically tagging newborns.

Baby Diango, who was taken from the maternity hospital in Orthez on Tuesday afternoon, was found safe and well on Wednesday morning at the home of a 48-year-old woman after a national alert was launched.

The incident has once again sparked debate over equipping new-born babies with electronic bracelets – a measure which is already in place in Germany, the UK and America.

Specialists are divided over the measure, which many say is expensive and it is often considered not very attractive aesthetically.

President of the National Union for French Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (Syngof) Marc-Alain Rozan said: “The measure is quite expensive for hospitals, costing around €10 per birth.”

However he said the union was entirely in favour of the bracelets, which he claimed have proven to be effective. He added: “This is a very simple step to take and is a real deterent.”

A bracelet fitted with a chip is attached to the baby’s ankle, and detectors are fitted in the area surrounding the new-born. If the baby goes out of this zone, an alarm is set off triggering the locking of exits and blocking lifts.

The kidnapping of Diango is the eighth of its kind since 2001. Mr Rozan added: “These incidents often raise the question of how best to keep an eye on children and babies.
“If people are going to be against electronic bracelets and think it is excessive, I think it is extremely important to look at other improving other ways of improving security.”

Electronic bracelets will be used in the Jacques-Monot hospital in Le Havre from summer 2009 when the new “mother and baby” wing opens. The hospital said it will have a charter in place allowing parents to refuse the bracelet, giving them the choice.

General director of Bluelinea which markets the bracelets Laurent Levasseur said attitudes in France were changing. He added: “More and more hospitals in showing interest.

“If the number of abductions in France is quite low, it’s important to know that the number of family and marital disputes is pretty high and can lead people to commit such acts. In the case of a family conflict the conditions are not right to launch a national alert and so the bracelet is an alternative.”

Photo: AFP / Police Judiciaire