PRESS RELEASE : Thousands more neighbourhood criminals to be GPS tracked in expansion of tagging project [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 4 October 2022.

The Justice Secretary, Brandon Lewis MP, has today (Tuesday 4 October) 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.