Rapists and domestic abusers will be monitored 24/7 and trigger police alerts if they approach their victims, under a dramatic expansion of offender tagging. Justice chiefs will be able to monitor perverts and thugs if they come within a certain distance of their victims or their homes.
The “proximity alerts” could then see probation staff call the criminals and warn them to back off. If they do not, police could be scrambled to protect their victims. Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, said: “This is the biggest expansion of tagging in British history and means the most dangerous offenders will now be watched more closely than ever before."
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Lord Timpson said: “By combining new technology with a stronger probation workforce, we’re making sure those who pose the biggest risk are under constant scrutiny to better protect victims and the public.”
Victims could be given a small device or be told to download an app to allow probation staff to watch over them.
But offenders would be fitted with ankle tags to ensure they can be monitored 24/7. Officials will meet with campaigners to discuss their preferences
The Ministry of Justice is also exploring the creation of “restriction zones”. These will compel offenders to remain within a certain area, such as a town or village.
This is because criminals are currently barred from approaching specific places, pushing the burden on the victim to update justice chiefs every time they move homes.
As well as a presumption that offenders leaving prison will be tagged, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will invest £8 million in new technology aimed at cutting administrative tasks.
That includes the use of the MoJ’s in-house AI tool, Justice Transcribe, to take notes during probation officers’ meetings with the offenders they supervise, which has been welcomed by frontline staff.
The Government will also recruit at least 1,300 new probation officers over the next year, while low-risk offenders will receive less regular supervision – allowing staff to focus on those that pose the greatest danger.
Currently, almost a third of probation appointments do not take place due to significant workloads, representing thousands of missed appointments per year.
It is understood that the MoJ expects those offenders to be tagged for at least the second third of their sentence, with probation officers then determining whether they should continue to be tagged for the final third.
More serious offenders will serve at least half of their sentence behind bars.