Probation officers have revealed that an electronic tagging backlog led to at least a dozen offenders being recalled to prison because fitters were not available. The backlog followed a scheme designed to ease overcrowding which involved releasing some prisoners early. A probation officer said that the problem had particularly affected the North East and North West and the Midlands, leading to extra work and paperwork, and an increase in home visits. Government prisons minister Lord Timpson announced on Friday that the backlog had been reduced to normal levels and warned that further penalties would be imposed if Serco, the contractor responsible for the tagging system, did not maintain its performance.
Probation staff emphasised that although numbers of those needing tags fitting had apparently reached “acceptable levels” in the government’s view, no specific figure had been offered. One officer commented that “our workload is at ridiculous levels already”, and that the increase in work was combined with the addition of tasks such as “breathalysing people because they haven’t got an alcohol tag”. Serco said it was working closely with the Ministry of Justice and the Probation Service to handle the increase in tagging necessitated by the early release programme.
Many of those released early following the scheme have been released on license and therefore required to wear an ankle tag. The tag monitors the individual’s movements to check that they obey curfews and other restrictions. A similar scandal took place in 2013 when rival contractor G4S and Serco were discovered to have charged the government for the tagging of prisoners who were either dead, still in prison, or had left the country
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