GPS tags will keep a 24/7 eye on criminals
THOUSANDS of criminals will be tracked by satellite in a new scheme designed to protect victims and drive down the use of short jail sentences.
Justice Secretary David Gauke announced the national rollout of GPS tags, which provide 24/7 location monitoring of offenders in the community.
Officials say the programme will act as a deterrent to stop victims being targeted again, such as in domestic abuse or stalking cases.
If a tagged individual is found in an “exclusion zone”, an alert will automatically be triggered and sent to police or probation services.
Those found to have breached their conditions face being recalled to prison or brought before the courts.
The scheme also forms part of efforts to strengthen community sentences, which ministers say are more effective in rehabilitating some offenders than locking them up for a few weeks.
Mr Gauke said: “GPS tagging will help to better protect victims and give them the reassurance that perpetrators will not be able to breach an exclusion zone without triggering an immediate alert.
“I am confident that this important new technology will become a vital tool to increase public protection and strengthen options for tougher community sentences.”
The technology could be used to monitor individuals who are placed on court bail as well as convicts serving community orders or suspended sentences.
Tags could also imposed on offenders released under the home detention curfew scheme or on licence following a life or indeterminate sentence.
Location monitoring can be used to enforce an exclusion zone, which an offender or individual on bail is barred from entering, and maintain a given distance from a specified address, such as a victim’s home. It could also help track attendance at rehabilitation programmes.
Between October 2016 and March 2018, the Ministry of Justice carried out a pilot in eight police force areas in England.
A report on the findings says partner agencies were “enthusiastic” about the potential of the tags to help monitor and manage compliance with bail, sentence and licence conditions.