Key facts
- The electronic tagging system for early-release prisoners is failing to alert authorities of potential breaches.
- HM Inspector of Probation Martin Jones stated the system needs updating to automatically flag breaches.
- Up to 5,000 prisoners are set for early release to address prison overcrowding.
- Prisoners convicted of rape, serious child sexual abuse, and grooming will be excluded from the early release scheme.
- The number of electronically monitored individuals has doubled in five years, with further increases expected.
- A National Audit Office report previously warned of public safety risks without improvements to the tagging system.
The electronic tagging system intended to monitor thousands of offenders released early from prison is failing to adequately alert authorities to breaches, according to a warning from HM Inspector of Probation Martin Jones.
Jones stated that the current system is too reliant on hard-pressed police and probation officers manually checking individual cases, rather than automatically flagging potential breaches of conditions, such as violating exclusion zones. This comes as the government plans to release up to 5,000 prisoners from October 1 to ease prison overcrowding, though this number has been reduced by 1,000 due to exclusions for serious sexual offenses.
Concerns about the system's readiness have been echoed by the National Audit Office, which previously highlighted risks to public safety without robust improvements. Jones emphasized the need for the system to keep pace with the doubling of electronically monitored individuals in the last five years and called for increased staffing in approved premises, which are crucial for managing high-risk offenders post-release.
While acknowledging recent improvements, including the addition of approximately 1,000 probation officers, Jones stressed the need for sustained investment and stabilization to ensure the system effectively supports public safety and provides genuine assurances, rather than false ones.