Mayor boosts funding to ‘tag’ knife crime and domestic abuse offenders
- More than 600 GPS tags have been fitted in the capital for knife crime and domestic abuse offenders after prison release
- Sadiq has invested an additional £350,000, enabling a further 300 tags to be fitted
- City Hall funding will expand the first-ever UK programme to tag perpetrators of domestic abuse
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced additional funding to boost innovative programmes to tag knife crime and domestic abuse offenders with a GPS tracking device on release from prison in a drive to cut reoffending, improve rehabilitation and reduce the risk victims face when an offender is released.
City Hall investment has now funded 600 tags - GPS tracking devices that are fitted to violent offenders and domestic abuse perpetrators after release from prison as part of strict new licence conditions. Sadiq is now directing an additional £350,000 – on top of £2 million already invested to tag persistent and violent offenders – to provide tags for 300 knife crime and domestic abuse offenders.
Evidence shows that GPS tracking devices can play an important role in ensuring offenders comply with the conditions of their release, helping police and probation services to reduce the risk faced by victims of domestic abuse, as well as ensuring that those who reoffend can be swiftly returned to prison. Of the 600 tags fitted to date, more than half of the offenders successfully completed their probation and 160 offenders fitted with GPS tracking devices were found to have breached the conditions of their release, and were returned to prison.
The Mayor launched a GPS tagging pilot for knife crime offenders in February 2019 and has since expanded the programme to cover every borough in London. This means that knife-crime offenders released from prison can be given GPS monitoring as part of the conditions of their release, allowing probation staff to monitor movements and challenge the offender about their lifestyle and behaviour. This includes monitoring locations which the offender is prohibited from visiting, for instance due to gang links, and probation staff can then take swift enforcement action if the offender breaches the terms of their release. Under the scheme, knife crime offenders who are deemed at a high risk of reoffending have their movements automatically checked against the location of reported violent crimes, with significant matches shared with local police. During the knife crime pilot programme, probation staff specifically highlighted that introducing GPS tagging for domestic abuse offenders would be beneficial in protecting victims in domestic abuse cases.
As a result, in March, Sadiq launched the first-ever UK pilot programme to tag perpetrators of domestic abuse to better protect victims of abuse and address the behaviour of offenders. Offenders who have served a prison sentence for a domestic abuse-related offence, such as stalking, harassment, physical abuse, sexual abuse and coercive control, can be tagged with a GPS tracking device as part of their release conditions. The tags, which monitor their location, enable probation services and the police to ensure offenders are following the conditions of their release and take action if they breach these conditions or commit a criminal offence. This includes conditions such as not entering ‘exclusion zones’ which could cover the address of a victim, or ensuring that offenders are arrested if they breach a restraining order, as well as providing GPS location data that can be used to verify a victim’s account of any re-offending behaviour.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Tackling violence and making our city safer is my number one priority and I’m determined to be tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime. Tackling violence is about real long-term change and turning around the lives of those at risk of reoffending and violence.
“That’s why I’m boosting my investment in GPS tags for knife crime offenders and perpetrators of domestic abuse. In London, we’ve seen the impact tagging offenders on release from prison can have on ensuring they comply with the conditions of their release, as well as making sure those who reoffend are swiftly returned to prison. This innovative programme aims to change offenders’ behaviour, reduce reoffending, and provide increased protection for victims.”
Pamela Spring, Head of Public Protection for the Probation Service in London, said: “Against a background of increased levels of knife crime, the use of GPS tagging for knife crime offenders is an integral part of London Probation Service’s strategy to manage the risk knife crime offenders present in order to better protect our communities and reduce the number of victims.”
Alexandra Naughton, Probation Officer at Waltham Forest Probation Office, said: “The person I worked with on probation has struggled quite a lot and this is the longest he has been in the community since he was a teenager. Having the tag has allowed us to have open conversations about how he is spending his time and allows me to understand his life and for him to understand concerns I might have. He really understands the tag because it is with him all the time so he doesn’t forget about the conditions on him and can use it to explain to friends why he can’t do certain things. I am really happy he is doing so well, and he starts a new job next week.”
Andrew Kay, Probation Service Officer at Haringey Probation Office, said: “I found the process of tagging and curfew to be very useful in terms of an extra pair of eyes over my person on probation. It has, in many ways, made my supervision more effective and, for the person on probation, they buy into why it’s necessary and, in the two cases I’ve had, has helped with their overall compliance.”
Notes to editors
Case studies of offenders given GPS monitoring as part of the conditions of their release
Case of a 20-year-old male serving a sentence for GBH involving the use of a blade. He was fitted with a tag as a variation of the conditions of his release licence in November 2020 and was due to remain on tag until May 2021. In February 2021 the GPS provider received an request from the MPS for GPS data over the previous month to look at the movements of the service user, who was suspected to be running a drugs line. The MPS asked for GPS data to confirm that the subject’s movements matched the movements of a phone known to be used as a drugs line. A warrant was then issued for the arrest of the service user and the police located him using GPS data.
A 21-year-old male was given GPS monitoring as a condition of his licence after a prison sentence for knife possession. At the time of his release he was assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm and had links to gangs. He also has previous convictions for theft, possession of a knife and supply of class A drugs. The offender was fitted with a GPS tag at the prison gate prior to release and was electronically monitored for two months on licence. The probation offender manager reported that she was able to usefully challenge his lifestyle and verify facts about his movements using GPS data. The practitioner described GPS as a fantastic risk management tool. In particular, she noted that the offender did not consider going back to any areas that would usually put him at risk of falling back into offending behaviour whilst on tag. GPS was also beneficial in building trust between the offender and his probation officer by allowing a constructive and honest discussion about his choices following release.
To be eligible for the domestic abuse pilot an offender must be:
- Aged 18+
- Assessed as posing a high or very high risk of serious harm
- Serving a standard determinate sentence for a domestic abuse offence
- Being released during the pilot from a London prison (or HMP Onley or Highpoint) to be managed by the London Probation Service
- Being released to viable accommodation (to enable tag charging)
Domestic abuse offences will be defined in line with the cross-governmental definition as 'Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.’
To be eligible for the knife crime pilot an offender must be:
- Aged 18+
- Serving a standard determinate sentence for an offence involving the use or possession of a knife or blade
- Being released during the pilot from a London prison (or HMP Onley or Highpoint) to be managed by the London Probation Service
- Being released to some type of viable accommodation (to enable tag charging)
Additional screening of cases will be done to ensure that only those cases whose risk and need can be proportionately and justifiably managed by GPS have it included in their licence conditions.