Mentions:
1: Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) We are locking up more criminals for longer: over the past decade, the average time offenders spend behind - Speech Link
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people breached tagging orders by curfew type in each year since 2018.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data showing the number of defendants and offenders given new electronically monitored orders by cohort and in total, since April 2017, is available in Table 1.2 of the Data Tables accompanying the most recent Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electronic-monitoring-statistics-publication-march-2024.
The department is currently unable to provide data on the number of individuals who have breached an order each year since 2018 due to non-compliance with an electronically monitored curfew because it is not held.
Courts will decide whether a defendant (for court bail) or, in some cases, an offender serving a community sentence (community order, suspended sentence order, youth rehabilitation order) are in breach of an order that includes electronically monitored compliance with a condition or requirement. In determining whether a breach or the order has occurred they may take into account a number of factors, not exclusively the electronically monitored requirement. Therefore, we are unable to reliably collect data identifying the reason for breach in some of these cases and whether this was exclusively as a result of non-compliance with a curfew requirement.
Similarly, for offenders on post-custody licence, where probation is alerted to a non-compliance with an electronically monitored condition of their licence, they may consider a number of factors, including a reasonable excuse, such as a hospital admission, and whether there is a risk to the public indicated by additional factors. Therefore, when a decision is made to recall an offender to custody for a breach of licence conditions, the electronically monitored condition may be just one factor.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were given tagging orders in each year since 2018.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data showing the number of defendants and offenders given new electronically monitored orders by cohort and in total, since April 2017, is available in Table 1.2 of the Data Tables accompanying the most recent Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electronic-monitoring-statistics-publication-march-2024.
The department is currently unable to provide data on the number of individuals who have breached an order each year since 2018 due to non-compliance with an electronically monitored curfew because it is not held.
Courts will decide whether a defendant (for court bail) or, in some cases, an offender serving a community sentence (community order, suspended sentence order, youth rehabilitation order) are in breach of an order that includes electronically monitored compliance with a condition or requirement. In determining whether a breach or the order has occurred they may take into account a number of factors, not exclusively the electronically monitored requirement. Therefore, we are unable to reliably collect data identifying the reason for breach in some of these cases and whether this was exclusively as a result of non-compliance with a curfew requirement.
Similarly, for offenders on post-custody licence, where probation is alerted to a non-compliance with an electronically monitored condition of their licence, they may consider a number of factors, including a reasonable excuse, such as a hospital admission, and whether there is a risk to the public indicated by additional factors. Therefore, when a decision is made to recall an offender to custody for a breach of licence conditions, the electronically monitored condition may be just one factor.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of sobriety tagging schemes, particularly for those convicted of serious assaults or domestic violence where alcohol was a factor.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In advance of legislating for the introduction of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) for community based sentences to tackle alcohol related offending, the Government contributed to funding for two pilots to ensure robust evaluation of the effectiveness of the measure. The pilots were carried out in London and in the North East of England and findings informed the introduction of AAMR in 2020. AAMR enables courts to impose an alcohol ban of up to 120 days on adult offenders who are not alcohol dependent, compliance is monitored using an alcohol tag.
Alcohol monitoring on licence was introduced in 2021 and enables probation to include an additional licence condition banning or restricting the consumption of alcohol, where a criminogenic need related to alcohol misuse is identified as an increase to risk. Funding has been allocated for evaluation of the processes, impact and value for money. A process and interim impact evaluation are expected to be published by the end of 2025. A full reoffending analysis and value-for-money assessment are expected by the end of 2026.
Evaluations published to date can be accessed via the links below:
MOPAC’s AAMR Final Impact Evaluation Report, December 2020 - aamr_final_impact_report_100521.pdf (london.gov.uk).
Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement: A review of process and performance from Year 2, July 2018 - aamr_final_process_performance_y2_report_final.pdf (london.gov.uk).
Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement The pan London roll out: A review of process and performance from year 1, July 2017 - AAMR Interim Report (london.gov.uk).
Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement: South London Pilot Indicative Impact Report, April 2017 - Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (london.gov.uk).
HNLY Pilot Process Evaluation Report, October 2019 - Evaluation-of-the-AAMR-tagging-pilot.pdf (northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk).
The AAMR pilot in the North-East focused on domestic abuse perpetrators, the process evaluation shows that 31% of wearers were convicted of a domestic violence offence. Compliance with the alcohol ban shows that the devices did not register a tamper or alcohol alert on 97.4% of the days worn. The impact evaluation (including for reoffending) is underway for this pilot and is also intended to be published.
The evaluations to date and published statistics have shown a strong uptake of alcohol monitoring by courts and probation. The number of individuals fitted with an alcohol monitoring (AM) device as at 31 March 2024 was 2,862, a 27% increase over the previous 12 months. There were 12,506 new alcohol monitoring orders imposed across England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2024. Overall, 24,305 new alcohol monitoring orders have been imposed since their introduction against an ambition of 12,000 by 2025 and compliance with the alcohol ban has remained consistent at over 97% for the total of days monitored. Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of sobriety tagging schemes.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In advance of legislating for the introduction of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) for community based sentences to tackle alcohol related offending, the Government contributed to funding for two pilots to ensure robust evaluation of the effectiveness of the measure. The pilots were carried out in London and in the North East of England and findings informed the introduction of AAMR in 2020. AAMR enables courts to impose an alcohol ban of up to 120 days on adult offenders who are not alcohol dependent, compliance is monitored using an alcohol tag.
Alcohol monitoring on licence was introduced in 2021 and enables probation to include an additional licence condition banning or restricting the consumption of alcohol, where a criminogenic need related to alcohol misuse is identified as an increase to risk. Funding has been allocated for evaluation of the processes, impact and value for money. A process and interim impact evaluation are expected to be published by the end of 2025. A full reoffending analysis and value-for-money assessment are expected by the end of 2026.
Evaluations published to date can be accessed via the links below:
MOPAC’s AAMR Final Impact Evaluation Report, December 2020 - aamr_final_impact_report_100521.pdf (london.gov.uk).
Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement: A review of process and performance from Year 2, July 2018 - aamr_final_process_performance_y2_report_final.pdf (london.gov.uk).
Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement The pan London roll out: A review of process and performance from year 1, July 2017 - AAMR Interim Report (london.gov.uk).
Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement: South London Pilot Indicative Impact Report, April 2017 - Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (london.gov.uk).
HNLY Pilot Process Evaluation Report, October 2019 - Evaluation-of-the-AAMR-tagging-pilot.pdf (northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk).
The AAMR pilot in the North-East focused on domestic abuse perpetrators, the process evaluation shows that 31% of wearers were convicted of a domestic violence offence. Compliance with the alcohol ban shows that the devices did not register a tamper or alcohol alert on 97.4% of the days worn. The impact evaluation (including for reoffending) is underway for this pilot and is also intended to be published.
The evaluations to date and published statistics have shown a strong uptake of alcohol monitoring by courts and probation. The number of individuals fitted with an alcohol monitoring (AM) device as at 31 March 2024 was 2,862, a 27% increase over the previous 12 months. There were 12,506 new alcohol monitoring orders imposed across England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2024. Overall, 24,305 new alcohol monitoring orders have been imposed since their introduction against an ambition of 12,000 by 2025 and compliance with the alcohol ban has remained consistent at over 97% for the total of days monitored. Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Mentions:
1: None That has happened not by accident, but as a result of prioritising measures ranging from the tagging - Speech Link
2: None The pilot would monitor whether these additional measures result in an increase in the use of tagging - Speech Link
3: None That will be only for certain low-level offenders. - Speech Link
4: Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab - Life peer) Which types of offenders are being released early under the scheme? - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) That has happened not by accident, but as a result of prioritising measures ranging from the tagging - Speech Link
2: Shabana Mahmood (Lab - Birmingham, Ladywood) Which types of offenders are being released early under the scheme? - Speech Link
Written Evidence Apr. 17 2024
Inquiry: Violence and abuse towards retail workersFound: The APCC supports the use of electronic tagging of persistent shoplifters so their movements can be
Mentions:
1: Laura Farris (Con - Newbury) in the same way as violent, sexual and terrorist offenders. - Speech Link
2: Alex Cunningham (Lab - Stockton North) As a result, such offenders will be treated as category 2 rather than category 3 offenders for MAPPA - Speech Link
3: Chris Philp (Con - Croydon South) In particular, I draw the Committee’s attention to the express power for courts to impose electronic - Speech Link
Mar. 18 2024
Source Page: Year of targeted action to better protect womenFound: remains our priority and we will continue to work tirelessly to evaluate sentencing and keep dangerous offenders