Latest news with #electronicTagging
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Cleveland PCC's concern over Serco electronic-tagging contract
A police and crime commissioner (PCC) has written to the government to raise concerns around the electronic tagging of criminals. Cleveland PCC Matt Storey described revelations in a Channel 4 documentary - which featured an undercover journalist getting work to fit tags in Teesside with private contractor Serco - as "troubling".The programme revealed a backlog of visits to offenders, with high-risk and violent criminals left unmonitored for up to two Antony King said the company's performance continued to improve. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed receipt of Mr Storey's letter to secretary of state Shabana Mahmood, although it has not formally Storey criticised private sector contract awards for essential public services where "profit over the quality of service" was prioritised. He said: "Time and again we see high-value contracts awarded to low-cost bidders with histories of underperformance, ultimately placing further strain on the very communities these services are meant to protect."The MoJ told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the footage was filmed last year and claimed the situation had improved.A spokeswoman for the department said: "While the backlog of outstanding visits has been significantly reduced, Serco's overall performance remains below acceptable levels."We continue to hold them to account for that and will not hesitate to impose further financial penalties where necessary."Mr King, managing director of citizen services at Serco, said: "We are proud of the challenging work our people do, working with multiple partners across the criminal justice system in delivering an essential and critical public safety service, often with complex and ever increasing requirements. "Our performance continues to improve, which the MoJ recognise, and we continue to monitor record numbers of people in the community supporting our colleagues in probation and the Home Office." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Bid for electronic tagging to ease pressure at Isle of Man Prison
Electronic tagging for adults could be used by the courts as part of bail conditions on the Isle of Man to cut pressure on the will be asked to approve a legal framework that would enable the use of the tags later this month by the Department for Home Affairs (DHA).The department said it would "ameliorate" demand on the prison, which had been at capacity in recent months, with the current population standing at 157 out of 167 capacity. The measures would also give a "certain level of liberty" for those who the court deems appropriate as they await trial. The DHA said the Criminal Justice Police and Courts Order and the Criminal Justice Police and Courts Rules were part of wider efforts in "modernising the tools available to the criminal justice system". 'Risk-based approach' The tags monitor a person's location and ensure they follow conditions, such as staying in on an overnight curfew, or avoiding certain department said that routine use of tagging for community orders was suspended in the early 2010s following the discontinuation of the third-party contract for monitoring services as it "did not represent value for money".But the initial phase of a new tagging pilot was completed in 2022 and had subsequently begun being used for those released on licence or parole, and more recently those on temporary person recommended for electronic monitoring as part of their bail conditions would be subject to "rigorous risk assessment first", the department Minister Jane Poole-Wilson said the measure would "allow an alternative option to custody that both supports public safety requirements and avoids disruption of employment and other supportive factors".It would also "offer an effective non-custodial remand option to assist with management of prison occupancy on a risk-based approach", she department said options were now being developed for the use of electronic monitoring as part of community-based sentences or "alternative disposals" for both juveniles and legal framework would come into effect the day approval, and would be able to be used by the courts shortly thereafter, it added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Britain 'investing in 30,000 more electronic tags for criminals' amid massive overhaul
Britain is investing in 30,000 more electronic tags for criminals as part of a massive overhaul in sentencing law. The huge expansion of tagging technology will see nearly 40,000 criminals electronically monitored at once. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is understood to have secured £700 million in funding from the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to buy the devices. This will increase the Probation Service's budget by roughly a third and enable it to quadruple the number of criminals fitted with electronic tags, The Times reports. It comes as David Gauke, the former Conservative justice secretary, will publish a long-awaited sentencing review this month. The report is expected to lead to the most drastic shake-up of sentencing legislation in decades and, the government is predicted to accept most of his recommendations. A MoJ spokesman said last week: 'This Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons days from collapse. 'David Gauke is conducting a sentencing review to ensure that we never run out of prison places again, and we are committed to reforming sentencing to ensure our prisons cut crime and keep the public safe.' The Ministry of Justice is also thought to be preparing to announce a new type of tag that will measure the level of drugs in an offender's system by monitoring their blood pressure and heart rate. Mahmood said the new devices are the 'holy grail' of tagging technology because of the large proportion of criminals whose offending is driven by drugs. It comes as David Gauke (pictured), the former Conservative justice secretary, will publish a long-awaited sentencing review this month Low-risk offenders could also be monitored using GPS trackers and biometric check-in technology on smartphones to make sure tags are saved for more serious criminals. Google and Palantir Technologies, another technology company, have been commissioned by the government to come up with an accurate way to predict an offender's risk level using AI software. The software would use both location-tracking information and other data to identify changes in risk levels. The Probation Service has the ability to put tags on roughly 9,000 criminals at any one time. This will rise to almost 40,000 under plans that will be announced by Mahmood on Thursday. Labour's sentencing review is also expected to suggest the biggest-ever reductions in the time prisoners must serve, in exchange for good behaviour while they are behind bars. In some cases that could see inmates set free after serving only a third of their initial sentence. A prison overcrowding crisis led the Government to introduce early release for most inmates after they have served 40 per cent of their sentences, and discounts are now likely to be extended even further for some criminals. A key measure expected to be set out in next week's report will see convicted offenders handed maximum and minimum sentences by the courts. Under the minimum sentences, inmates will serve one third if they complete work, training or education in jail, and show good behaviour. Those who fail to comply will have to serve their maximum terms – which are likely to be beyond the 40 per cent automatic release date currently in force, the Telegraph reported. Labour's existing early release scheme excludes offenders jailed for sex crimes, terrorism and serious violent crimes carrying more than four years' imprisonment. The new proposals – drawn up for Ms Mahmood by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke – are likely to follow a similar pattern. It could mean most criminals will benefit from extended sentence discounts, including some violent offenders, fraudsters, drug dealers, burglars and thieves. Jails in England and Wales were holding 88,087 inmates on Monday, with headroom of 1,355 places. Ministry of Justice forecasts suggest jails will run out of space again early next year, despite the opening of a new 1,500-bed jail HMP Millsike, near York, a month ago. Another key reform outlined in the review is the idea of using technology to create 'digital prisons' for those under house arrest, The Times reported. That will involve using electronic tags and other surveillance technology to build out a new three-stage model for prison release. That will see first stage inmates transferred to a second stage of house arrest for the middle of their sentence before finally being released into the community for the third part once they have been ruled not a threat. As well as ending shorter sentences, the sentencing review is also pushing the government to embrace intensive supervision courts which involves judges meeting offenders as frequently as every fortnight. The scheme, already in its trial stage, is aimed at rehabilitating low level offenders who have to commit to two-year orders and seek treatment for drink, drugs or mental health issues. Those on the scheme can be jailed for 28 days for major violations of their license and are cut from the scheme after three strikes. However, early results have proved positive, with data showing than more than two-thirds (70 per cent) of offenders comply with the program. The scheme actually has its origins in Conservative policy since it was first introduced by the then-justice secretary Michael Gove in 2015.
