Latest news with #violentoffenders
The Independent
08-08-2025
- The Independent
Sex offenders to be banned from leaving ‘restriction zones' under new plan
The UK government plans to introduce new "restriction zones" for sexual and violent offenders, limiting where they can go to protect survivors. Offenders will be tracked using GPS technology, and breaching these virtual boundaries could lead to imprisonment, shifting the responsibility from survivors to perpetrators. The measure aims to allow survivors to live their daily lives without fear, with probation officers working with them to determine specific banned locations. A domestic abuse survivor welcomed the proposal with cautious optimism, hoping for genuine change after feeling let down by previous governments. This initiative is part of broader prison reforms addressing overcrowding, supported by a £700 million funding boost for the Probation Service and recruitment of new officers.
The Guardian
08-08-2025
- The Guardian
Released violent offenders to be ‘locked' in restriction zones in England and Wales
Restriction zones aimed at 'locking' violent offenders – rather than their victims – into specific areas when they are released from prison are to be introduced by the government in England and Wales. At the moment, exclusion zones are often used to keep an offender away from their victim's home but many campaigners for women's safety have long called for this to be flipped. They argue a system of offender restriction zones will give victims more freedom because they can travel widely in the confidence they will not bump into their perpetrator. Technology, such as electronic tags, would be used to make sure offenders stayed in the allocated zone and if they strayed they risked being returned to prison. Under the plans, probation officers will conduct a risk assessment and work closely with victims on the creation of restriction zones, making sure they prevent contact while giving survivors the maximum freedom to rebuild their lives. The plans, announced on Friday by the Ministry of Justice, were welcomed by campaigners including the Joanna Simpson Foundation, which supports children affected by domestic abuse and homicide. In a statement the foundation co-founders, Diana Parkes and Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, said: 'For far too long, victims have had to reshape their lives to avoid their offenders. 'Exclusion zones have made victims feel trapped as though they are the ones serving a sentence, with the victim carrying the weight of someone else's crime. 'This is the much-needed change that has long been called for and is a powerful step forward. By placing restrictions on offenders instead, this will now give survivors the freedom they deserve to live, move and heal without fear. 'It will also be more cost-effective for those monitoring the perpetrators as they will be locked in specific areas rather than having to monitor the exclusion zones where the victims live.' The plans are designed to restrict the movements of the most serious sexual and violent offenders. Rhianon Bragg, who was stalked and held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-partner Gareth Wyn Jones in north Wales, welcomed the government's announcement. A wide exclusion zone was placed around her home when Jones was released but Bragg said she felt trapped in this area, and when she travelled out of it she felt at risk. Emma King, whose sister Julie Butcher was killed in Wiltshire in 2005, said: 'This is a vital and significant step forward in shifting the burden of control away from victims and placing it where it belongs – on offenders. 'For the first time, the justice system is taking a decisive stand: instead of victims being forced to uproot their lives to stay safe, the most serious sexual and violent offenders will now face strict boundaries that limit their freedom.' Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls, said: 'We're putting victims first. This move will strengthen safeguards for victims.' Bringing in restriction zones will require primary legislation, which the government will introduce in parliament when time allows. The Ministry of Justice said wider changes throughout the probation system would also result in tens of thousands more offenders being tagged and at least 1,300 new trainee probation officers brought in next year to increase capacity. Further planned changes include: Increased tagging for domestic perpetrators. Requiring judges to flag domestic abuse at sentencing so prisons, probation and police can better identify and manage abusers. Expanding specialist domestic abuse courts. Bolstering transparency for victims at sentencing – including the provision of free copies of judges' sentencing remarks for victims of rape and other sexual offences.
CNA
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
US Attorney General Bondi visits Alcatraz after Trump call to reopen notorious prison
SAN FRANCISCO: US Attorney General Pam Bondi visited the former Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay on Thursday (July 17), weeks after President Donald Trump said he intended to reopen the long-shuttered facility to house violent offenders. Aerial footage showed Bondi speaking with park rangers and touring the island, which is now operated by the National Park Service as a historical site and tourist destination. Television cameras followed the attorney general, who did not speak to reporters during the visit. Trump, in May, said he had directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons, overseen by Bondi, to rebuild and reactivate Alcatraz as a functioning prison. However, it remains unclear whether any formal plans have been drawn up. The administration did not request funds for the project in its latest budget submission to Congress. Bondi has recently faced criticism from some Trump supporters following the Justice Department's decision to close a review of material linked to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Alcatraz operated as a maximum-security federal prison from 1934 to 1963. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it was shut down due to high operational costs. The facility once held some of the most notorious US criminals, including gangster Al Capone. Today, the former prison is one of San Francisco's most visited landmarks. The Trump administration has also dubbed a newly opened migrant detention centre in the Florida Everglades 'Alligator Alcatraz,' drawing comparisons to the isolated prison island.
CTV News
21-06-2025
- CTV News
B.C. boosts funding to target repeat offenders
Vancouver Watch The B.C. government has announced more funding in hopes of arresting more repeat violent offenders.
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Don't release violent offenders early', police chiefs warn Labour
Police chiefs have demanded ministers exempt 'high risk' violent and sexual offenders from their early prison release scheme to protect the public from 'out of control' criminals. They have also warned there will be a surge in reoffending by freed prisoners unless Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, provides extra money for probation officers to supervise the thousands of prisoners set to be released early. One senior police source told The Telegraph: 'We can see why the Government has to do this after a decade of underinvestment in criminal justice but we have some concerns about what the impact will be on policing. We don't feel it's well understood at this point.' The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) have written to Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, saying that letting criminals 'out of prison' earlier must not mean the offenders are 'out of control'. Under the Government's plans, killers, rapists and other violent offenders serving four years or more in jail will be eligible for release after serving just half of their sentence rather than two-thirds, if they behave well and engage with rehabilitation schemes. Other less serious criminals such as burglars, thieves and fraudsters on standard determinate sentences with earlier release points can be freed after just a third of their time if they behave well. Sentences under one year will also be scrapped unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as domestic abusers or stalkers who pose a risk and offenders who have breached orders linked to violence against women and girls. The plans were recommended by an independent sentencing review headed by David Gauke, the former Tory justice secretary, and accepted by Ms Mahmood in order to free up 9,800 prison places and avoid overcrowded jails in England and Wales running out of cells. The Justice Secretary, however, rejected proposals by the review to free offenders on 'extended determinate sentences' where a judge has set a specific time limit in jail because the court regarded them as dangerous. Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett, who leads on criminal justice for the NPCC, said: 'Out of prison should not mean out of control. 'Adequate funding to support these measures must be reflected in the upcoming spending review, as well as investment in probation services and technology, including electronic monitoring, to enable policing to work across criminal justice agencies to monitor offenders and reduce reoffending.' She added: 'It is crucial for public safety that high-risk offenders, including those convicted of violent or sexual offences, and those who pose a threat to national security, are exempt from early prison release. 'Robust prison sentences for these crimes must remain in place as a strong deterrent and means of keeping the public safe. It is also crucial that victims of domestic abuse are protected and that perpetrators understand that there will be harsh consequences for breaching orders.' Ms Mahmood has said she has secured an extra £700 million for the probation service in the spending review as well as deploying 'tens of thousands' more electronic tags to place high-risk offenders under effective 'house arrest' with curfews at night and during the day alongside tighter exclusions which they must not leave. However, there are still concerns about whether the funding will be sufficient given consistent warnings by probation watchdogs that many officers are inexperienced, over-stretched and disillusioned. A senior police source said: 'When they are released, there needs to be proper robust supervision which can only take place if there is a probation service that is sufficiently resourced and able to do the job.' Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has described the plans as a 'get out of jail free card for dangerous criminals' who would 'terrorise streets and torment our country'. Dame Nicole Jacobs, domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said the changes would: 'Send a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence.' She added: 'I recognise the difficult situation ministers are in and that our approach to sentencing must change to address the prison capacity crisis. 'But watering down our criminal justice system is not the answer – especially when it comes at the expense of victims' safety and cuts short the justice they have fought so hard for.' Ms Mahmood has insisted the measures had to be taken to stop the total 'breakdown of law and order'. She said: 'If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials. The police must halt their arrests. Crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok and chaos reigns.'
