Probation Service being set up to fail with tagging expansion, says Lords committee

Electronic Monitoring (EM, commonly called tagging) is likely to double once the Sentencing Bill becomes law. This will require a significant increase in funding for the Probation Service, not least for additional staff and training. 

It also requires a new EM strategy with a clearly defined purpose for how the Government believes EM should be used. Without such a strategy and additional funding, the probation service is being set up to fail, according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. 

In a letter to the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending and the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, published today, the committee sets out its support in principle for the use of EM. The committee argues that when used effectively, with proper support from the probation and other services, it can help reduce prison overcrowding, reduce re-offending and, as a result, make the public safer.  

However, in addition to concerns about the woefully inadequate resources promised by the Government and the absence of a new EM strategy, the Committee also believes additional issues must be addressed before EM achieves its potential. These include: 

• Poor communication to the Judiciary and the public by the Government, about the purpose and benefits of EM 

• Insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of much of the use of EM, with evidence produced by the Government too often focusing on pilot studies and short-term reviews showing little to no evidence of quantifiable success 

• Potential inability of current private contractors to handle the increase in those subject to EM 

• Ethical concerns around the use of EM in some contexts, particularly its use in immigration bail  

• Major concerns about the underwhelming, and at times dire, performance of the private sector providing EM services. 

• Failure to fully grasp the opportunities provided by new technologies.  

As a result, the committee has made several recommendations, including: 

• Reconsideration of current, inadequate, funding plans for the probation Service 

• Preparation of a new EM Strategy following an independent review of existing provision, international best practice, and the potential for better use of new technologies 

• Reconsideration of the suitability of private companies to manage and operate EM services compared to bringing them under the control of the Probation Service  

• Where the private sector continues to be used, increasing the number of providers to provide competition and greater security of provision. 

• The MoJ, alongside the judiciary and the Probation Service, should conduct regular reviews to ensure EM is being used proportionately across all groups, as well as appropriately amongst vulnerable groups 

• The MoJ must investigate reports that black people are almost twice as likely to be subjected to EM as their white counterparts and whether and why this racial discrepancy widely exists. It should publish ethnicity data in relation to EM, as well as an action plan on how it will combat this discrepancy 

• Ensure any new strategy specifically considers the needs of women, who are amongst the most vulnerable group in the Criminal Justice System, with every effort made to ensure that EM is used appropriately with them. 

Lord Foster of Bath, Chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee said: 

“The Probation Service needs more funding, and many more well-trained staff if there is to be a successful EM expansion. Without this, the Probation Service is being set up to fail. 

“It is startling that the Government is promoting the biggest expansion of EM in a generation at a time of great technological advancement yet does not see fit to accompany this with a new strategy.  

“There is also a new presumption that all prison leavers will be subject to EM on their release from custody. This blanket approach to tagging, regardless of crime and circumstances, diminishes the role of effective, targeted probation interventions, and risks creating an unethical system that is overly punitive and disproportionate. 

“Alongside a major boost in funding and training, and a reassessment of procurement and contract management, a new EM strategy is crucial. At a time when the use of EM is changing, with numbers almost doubling and the intention to tag most prison leavers ‘at source', the Government must reassess its approach to EM. The rise of new technologies, including non-fitted devices and AI, further highlight the importance of a new strategy, one which clearly defines the purpose of EM to both the judiciary and the public. 

“We look forward to the Government's response to the observations and recommendations in this letter.”