The Justice Secretary, MP, has today announced that
more thieves, burglars and robbers will be fitted with GPS
electronic tags when they leave prison, helping cut crime and
keep the public safe.
Under this expansion of this Government’s Acquisitive Crime GPS
tagging project, 2,000 more criminals will have their whereabouts
monitored on leaving custody – another important step forward in
the use of technology to drive down re-offending rates and
protect our communities.
Under the current system, only criminals with sentences of a year
or more can be monitored via electronic tags on release under the
scheme. The changes announced today will see offenders with
sentences of 90 days or more eligible to be tagged – dramatically
cutting the existing sentence threshold by nine months.
Tags for criminals who carry out theft, burglary, and robbery
offences - known as acquisitive crimes - were introduced
last year. They work by tracking the physical movements of
offenders so police can find out if any tagged offenders were in
the vicinity of a crime.
The technology also allows probation staff to keep a much closer
eye on the whereabouts of offenders under their supervision –
meaning they are better able to prevent ex-criminals from falling
back into a life of crime.
The expansion, part of this Government’s unprecedented £183
million investment in expanding the use of electronic monitoring
technology, means the UK is continuing to lead the world in using
tagging to fight crime and keep people safe.
The Justice Secretary has also (today) confirmed his plans to
create more oversight of where transgender prisoners are housed
and consider options to ensure risk assessments are robust as
possible.
The government has been clear on the issue of single sex spaces -
whether it be in our prisons, our schools, or our hospitals. That
is why we will act to better protect single sex spaces within our
prisons and protect women from harm.
