Despite electronic monitoring being a condition of early release as part of efforts to ease overcrowding in prisons, some prisoners have not been fitted with electronic tracking devices. Reports reveal that some prisoners who were released early had not been fitted with ankle tags, a situation which could increase the risk of reoffence and danger to the public. Prisons minister, Lord Timpson, will reportedly hold an urgent meeting with security contractor, Serco, which is responsible for managing the prison tagging system, to discuss the issue. A shortage of tags, coupled with a backlog of former prisoners have been blamed as the reasons for the delays in tagging the offenders.
Last week, over 1,700 prisoners were released from prisons in England and Wales as part of the government’s efforts to address overcrowding in prisons. The release has however, been criticised for risking public safety because not all victims were made aware of their offender’s early release date. Prisoners jailed for violent crimes, sex offenders and domestic abusers were not qualified for early release, as the government had stated.
Many of the prisoners released last week were freed on license. This means they require an ankle tag to follow restrictions and obey curfews. But if they are not tagged, they are permitted to act without being monitored thereby increasing the risk of reoffending. Three probation officers who spoke to BBC news on the condition of anonymity indicated that the situation could potentially be dangerous for the society. According to Martin Jones, chief inspector of probation, about a third of those released early last week are expected to reoffend.
Electronic Monitoring Services (EMS), an organisation which is managed by Serco under a contract with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), is responsible for the tagging system. Ironically, MoJ is holding Serco accountable for what they described as a delay in tagging the prisoners. The government department noted that tagging is a vital part of the strategy to maintain safety for victims and cut recidivism rates. MoJ has said that it is prioritising the tagging of domestic abuse offenders to enforce licence conditions to stay away from their victims
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