Latest news with #tagging
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Electronic tags do NOT prevent criminals from re-offending, warns Met chief... as Labour lets thousands skip jail
Tagging criminals instead of sending them to prison will not stop re-offending, the head of the country's biggest police force has warned. Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, issued a stark warning yesterday about the Government's plans to let tens of thousands of offenders avoid jail. He said that fewer criminals serving prison time would 'generate a lot of work for police' and a 'proportion' of them would go on to commit another crime. Sir Mark also accused ministers of having done 'no analysis whatsoever' on the impact of letting criminals dodge jail sentences or be released early. Under Labour's overhaul of sentencing laws announced last week, some criminals – including violent and sexual offenders – will be released early for good behaviour. And courts will no longer impose jail terms of less than 12 months, apart from in 'exceptional circumstances', with more criminals serving sentences in the community instead. Alongside the changes, the Probation Service was given a funding boost to buy nearly 30,000 more electronic tags – enabling it to quadruple the number of criminals being monitored with the devices. But the Met Commissioner told BBC Radio 4's Today programme tagging criminals cannot be relied upon: 'Every time you put an offender into the community, a proportion of them will commit crime, a proportion of them will need chasing down by the police.' He went on: 'If probation are going to spend more money on trying to reform offenders, divert them, reduce their recidivism, that's fantastic. 'But a proportion of those who would've been in prison will be committing further offences because probation can't do a perfect job, it's impossible. 'That extra offending is work that police have to do to protect communities. That involves more arrests, more cases. So this will generate a lot of work for police.' Sir Mark's comments came after he and five other senior police officers – chief constables Serena Kennedy, Stephen Watson, Craig Guildford and John Robins, as well as chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC)Gavin Stephens – wrote a letter in The Times calling on the Government to provide 'serious investment' at this month's spending review. As well as increasing demand and new online threats from organised crime, they said the emergency release of prisoners to alleviate overcrowding and recommendations in the sentencing review would put more pressure on policing. The officers warned that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's flagship pledges on knife crime, violence against women and recruiting thousands more police officers would be unachievable without spending more. Their warning comes ahead of the Chancellor's spending review on June 11, which chiefs said was 'the most important moment in decades' for the backing of police by the Government. Police chiefs have also called for a radical overhaul of the structure of UK policing with fewer, larger forces amid financial shortages and difficulties dealing with updating technology. The current structure of 43 geographical forces was established in the 1960s and there have long been concerns that the model is not fit for purpose. As the NPCC published the police data strategy for 2025 to 2030 today, force bosses called for a redesign of the structure of policing in England and Wales. Mr Stephens said 'the system is not resilient' and argued for 'bigger, capable forces led by a stronger national centre'.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Outdoors Notebook: Game and Fish launches 3-year walleye-tagging study on Devils Lake
May 24—DEVILS LAKE — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has launched a three-year walleye-tagging study on Devils Lake in an effort to learn more about the "exploitation rate," or percentage of walleyes anglers harvest each year, on the popular fishery. In a "North Dakota Outdoors" video segment, Todd Caspers, district fisheries biologist for Game and Fish in Devils Lake, said the goal is to tag at least 1,000 walleyes each of the three years in various locations across the lake. Running the study for three years instead of just one will help account for year-to-year differences in fishing success, Caspers said in the video. "One year, the fishing might be really good and exploitation might be a little higher, and then vice versa, if it's a slower year for walleye fishing, exploitation will probably be lower," Caspers said. "So, (over) three years, we'll see that kind of average out to a more average picture of what our exploitation is." Fisheries crews will tag walleyes of various sizes — basically from 13 inches up to 30 inches — throughout the study, Caspers said, using metal tags that are fastened through the fishes' thin mouth tissue. Anglers who catch a tagged walleye can either keep or release the fish like they would any walleye, but should report the tag number, either through their personal online Game and Fish account, on the Game and Fish website or by calling the Devils Lake district office at (701) 662-3617. The Devils Lake walleye-tagging study is one of seven department fisheries crews are conducting across the state this year. Game and Fish last conducted a walleye-tagging study on Devils Lake from 2007 through 2009. BISMARCK — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department encourages public comment on the revision of its 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan. Known as SWAP, for short, the plan is North Dakota's guiding document for the conservation and restoration of at-risk species and their habitats, with a focus on preventing species from becoming endangered. It identifies species of greatest conservation need, including fish, wildlife and invertebrates. In a news release, Game and Fish said the plan is revised every 10 years and represents a unified effort involving various stakeholders aimed at creating and implementing conservation strategies to ensure the long-term protection and sustainability of the state's fish and wildlife. North Dakota's SWAP is a collaborative effort by Game and Fish staff, species experts, partner conservation groups, and state, federal and local agencies. A draft of the plan is available on the department's website — — and public comments will be accepted through June 30. ST. PAUL — Minnesota's bass fishing catch-and-keep season opens Saturday, May 24. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, spring is a great time to cast a line for these fun-to-catch fish. Largemouth and smallmouth bass can be easier to catch in spring and early summer when they spend more time in shallow water. Later, as water temperatures rise, many bass move to deeper water in search of sunken points, rocky humps and aquatic plant edges that offer protection from larger fish and hiding places for prey. Learn more about how to fish for bass and other species on the DNR's learn to fish webpage at .
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More offenders could be tagged, as minister insists he's 'not soft on crime'
Prisons minister James Timpson has told the BBC more criminals could be tagged in future instead of being sent to prison - but insists he's not "soft on crime". More than 30 companies, including Microsoft and Google, will meet the government today to explore how technology could help monitor offenders in the community more effectively and tackle violence in prison. Lord Timpson says tagging more people instead of sending them to prison is a potential alternative punishment. But critics have questioned his previous comments about the UK being "addicted" to sentencing and punishment, and how "only a third" of inmates should be in prison. "I don't think I'm soft on crime at all," Lord Timpson says in the wide-ranging BBC interview. "I think I'm pretty tough in my style. In business, I'm tough but I use the evidence - and in this job I'm using the evidence." He says he is passionate about rehabilitating offenders in prison so they don't commit further crimes when released. However, more than 26% of adult criminals in England and Wales go on to reoffend within a year of being let out of prison. "How do we reduce re-offending? How do we deal with people's drug addiction, mental health problems, the fact that people leave prison they don't know where to live, people don't have a job? That is also a really important part of my job," he says. The former CEO of the Timpson Group, which provides key cutting and shoe repair services, is known for hiring ex-offenders and is a former chairman of the Prison Reform Trust. Lord Timpson took up his role at the Ministry of Justice in July last year, when the penal system in England and Wales was close to breaking point. Prisons were full, and months later thousands of inmates were released early as part of an emergency plan to ease overcrowding and free up space. He says prisons are still in a state of "crisis", with fewer than 1,000 spare places and more than 88,000 people in custody in England and Wales. "We recently opened HMP Millsike," he says, describing the new category C prison which opened in East Yorkshire in March, with capacity for up to 1,500 inmates. "We've got more cells opening across the country. We need to keep building prison places because the population is going up." Last month, three prison officers were seriously injured at HMP Frankland, in Durham, after they were attacked with makeshift weapons and hot oil by one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing. Hashem Abedi was being held in a separation centre - used to house a small number of the most dangerous and extremist inmates - at the category A, maximum security jail. "What happened in Frankland is absolutely shocking," Lord Timpson says. "The level of violence in prisons is far too high - and it is increasing. "Our prison staff did an incredible job. I don't want them to turn up to work thinking that there's going to be violence. I want them to turn up to work helping people turn their lives around." However, the number of assaults on staff in prison is the highest in a decade, with 10,605 recorded in 2024. More prisons reporting by Sima Kotecha Lord Timpson refutes claims that gangs are in charge of some of Britain's biggest jails, but acknowledges that serious organised crime is the one thing that "keeps me awake at night". "Serious organised crime brings drugs in and creates violence and intimidation in prisons," he says. "This has been a long-term problem in prisons, but it is even more of a problem when the capacity is as full as it is. "If we had people who went to prison who didn't get drugs and weren't intimidated by serious organised criminals, they'd be far more likely to engage with a sentence and get well enough so that when they leave they don't commit further crime." The government has commissioned an independent sentencing review to explore alternatives to prison in an attempt to ease overcrowding. The review will provide long-term solutions for the justice system and examine the use and composition of non-custodial sentences, including community alternatives to prison and the use of fines. Increased tagging will also be considered. There are three types of ankle tags currently used to monitor offenders: alcohol, GPS, and curfew tags. A new study suggests tags that monitor curfews cut reoffending by 20%. "We want them to have a one-way ticket - not a return back into prison or back into non-custodial sentences," Lord Timpson says. "What's really important is we embrace technology and look at the evidence - tagging can have some very important benefits." But the use of electronic tagging to monitor offenders has been problematic. In recent months several probation staff have told the BBC offenders who should be tagged, have not been. The security company Serco has been contracted by the government to manage tagging since October 2023. "We inherited a contract with Serco and it's been far from perfect," Lord Timpson says. "We're putting a lot of pressure still on them to perform, but we need to work together to make sure that people are tagged on time in the right way. Things are getting better, but we're not there yet." Anthony Kirby, Serco Group CEO, told the BBC he is pleased the prisons minister has recognised the progress Serco has made since taking over the electronic monitoring service: "We are proud of the role we have supporting the Criminal Justice System, monitoring record numbers of people in the community and protecting public safety in partnership with HMPPS." [BBC] Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
More offenders could be tagged, as James Timpson insists he's ‘not soft on crime'
More offenders could be tagged, as minister insists he's 'not soft on crime' 8 minutes ago Share Save Sima Kotecha • @sima_kotecha Senior UK correspondent Share Save BBC Lord Timpson is the former CEO of the Timpson Group, which provides key cutting and shoe repair services Prisons minister James Timpson has told the BBC more criminals could be tagged in future instead of being sent to prison - but insists he's not "soft on crime". More than 30 companies, including Microsoft and Google, will meet the government today to explore how technology could help monitor offenders in the community more effectively and tackle violence in prison. Lord Timpson says tagging more people instead of sending them to prison is a potential alternative punishment. But critics have questioned his previous comments about the UK being "addicted" to sentencing and punishment, and how "only a third" of inmates should be in prison. "I don't think I'm soft on crime at all," Lord Timpson says in the wide-ranging BBC interview. "I think I'm pretty tough in my style. In business, I'm tough but I use the evidence - and in this job I'm using the evidence." He says he is passionate about rehabilitating offenders in prison so they don't commit further crimes when released. However, more than 26% of adult criminals in England and Wales go on to reoffend within a year of being let out of prison. "How do we reduce re-offending? How do we deal with people's drug addiction, mental health problems, the fact that people leave prison they don't know where to live, people don't have a job? That is also a really important part of my job," he says. The former CEO of the Timpson Group, which provides key cutting and shoe repair services, is known for hiring ex-offenders and is a former chairman of the Prison Reform Trust. Lord Timpson took up his role at the Ministry of Justice in July last year, when the penal system in England and Wales was close to breaking point. Prisons were full, and months later thousands of inmates were released early as part of an emergency plan to ease overcrowding and free up space. He says prisons are still in a state of "crisis", with fewer than 1,000 spare places and more than 88,000 people in custody in England and Wales. "We recently opened HMP Millsike," he says, describing the new category C prison which opened in East Yorkshire in March, with capacity for up to 1,500 inmates. "We've got more cells opening across the country. We need to keep building prison places because the population is going up." Last month, three prison officers were seriously injured at HMP Frankland, in Durham, after they were attacked with makeshift weapons and hot oil by one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing. Hashem Abedi was being held in a separation centre - used to house a small number of the most dangerous and extremist inmates - at the category A, maximum security jail. "What happened in Franklin is absolutely shocking," Lord Timpson says. "The level of violence in prisons is far too high - and it is increasing. "Our prison staff did an incredible job. I don't want them to turn up to work thinking that there's going to be violence. I want them to turn up to work helping people turn their lives around." However, the number of assaults on staff in prison is the highest in a decade, with 10,605 recorded in 2024. Lord Timpson refutes claims that gangs are in charge of some of Britain's biggest jails, but acknowledges that serious organised crime is the one thing that "keeps me awake at night". "Serious organised crime brings drugs in and creates violence and intimidation in prisons," he says. "This has been a long-term problem in prisons, but it is even more of a problem when the capacity is as full as it is. "If we had people who went to prison who didn't get drugs and weren't intimidated by serious organised criminals, they'd be far more likely to engage with a sentence and get well enough so that when they leave they don't commit further crime."
