Statistics released today (Friday 29 December) show around 2800
offenders have been made to wear an alcohol tag during Christmas
and New Year, with the devices able to detect if an offender has
been drinking by analysing their sweat.
This is an increase of around 1000 offenders from the same time
last year and follows the Government’s drive to double the number
of people on tags at any one time by 2025 and protect communities
from the violence and disorder often caused by alcohol.
If an offender has had a drink an alert will be sent to the
probation officer who can take action. The tags are so accurate
they won’t be triggered by foods that contain alcohol –but boozy
drinks will raise the alarm and offenders face being sent to
prison.
The Government’s investment will nearly double the number of
defendants on tags at any one time from 13,500 in 2021 to 25,000
by 2025.
Around 39% of all violent crime in the UK involves alcohol,
including domestic abuse which can rise during the festive period
as figures provided by charities such as Women’s Aid have often
demonstrated.
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, KC, said:
“The festive season is a time of celebration but a small minority
can take it too far. We’re keeping communities safe by tagging a
record number of offenders this Christmas period.
“These innovative alcohol tags act as an important deterrent to
offenders and come with a clear message: step out of line and you
could end up behind bars.”
Alcohol tags are part of the Government’s unprecedented £156
million investment in tagging technology which means the UK has
remained among the world leaders in the use of tags to fight
crime and keep people safe.
The tags were first rolled out in 2020 as a punishment for
alcohol-fuelled crimes and are also used to help keep the public
safe from offenders considered likely to commit crimes when
drunk.
Roughly 20% of offenders on probation are classed as having a
drinking problem, so these tags play a part in helping to cut
alcohol-fuelled crime, which causes untold misery for victims and
lands society with a £21 billion bill each year.
Offenders banned from alcohol by the courts have stayed sober for
97% of the time on average, showing that these tags are
successfully working as a deterrent.
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