Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of further increasing the number of convicted offenders subject to electronic tagging.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Electronic Monitoring is an effective criminal justice tool helping probation and police reduce crime, bringing rigour and accountability to supervision, whilst keeping the public safe. For convicted offenders it can be targeted to support rehabilitation, public protection, crime reduction and reparation.
We are investing £183m in tagging over the next three years, nearly doubling the number of people tagged by 2025. This includes an Innovation Fund to test different ways of using existing technology to cut crime and foster the development of new types of tags.
We have expanded our world first Acquisitive Crime Project, it now covers almost half the country and we have undertaken to publish findings from the project evaluation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Tens of thousands more criminals to be tagged to cut crime and protect victims, published on 5 October 2021, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on (a) probation service workloads and (b) recall numbers of planned increases in the use of electronic monitoring.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The targeted expansion of electronic monitoring will allow us to assess the impact of specific electronic monitoring measures to inform ongoing and future use. Published alongside the legislation for the Acquisitive Crime project that imposes electronic monitoring on burglars, robbers and thieves is the Impact Assessment in which we have estimated the impact on probation and recall: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/999/impacts This project is being evaluated and findings will be published.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of creating capacity in the National Probation Service for insourcing electronic monitoring.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Electronic monitoring (EM) is an effective criminal justice tool helping the police and probation keep the public safe by monitoring the movements of offenders and those on bail, restricting their liberty while ensuring they can remain in work or education.
EM has always been delivered using a contracted infrastructure and there are no current plans to move away from that model. Probation play a vital role in maximising the effectiveness of EM and obtaining the best outcomes for those who are tagged, which is why senior level sponsorship of EM within probation regions has been built into the new probation unified model.
As the sentencing white paper published recently demonstrates, this Government is committed to expanding the use of EM. For example, we intend to legislate to impose satellite enabled tagging on offenders released from custody who have committed burglary and theft offences. And the roll out of alcohol tags to monitor Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirements to help to break patterns of alcohol-induced offending will shortly begin in Wales.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of people who have been released early from prison as a result of the covid-19 outbreak were convicted of serious violent crimes.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
On 4 April, the Ministry of Justice announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme (ECTR). This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period.
No prisoners released under the ECTR scheme have been convicted of serious violent crimes as offenders serving sentences for violent crimes are not eligible for this scheme.
Further information can be found in the published guidance on gov.uk
All offenders released on ECTR are subject to electronic monitoring, which is in place before they are released from custody. Offenders released under ECTR are not subject to statutory probation supervision. However, upon release Community Rehabilitation Companies will deploy Through the Gate staff to ensure each offender has a nominated offender manager to remain in contact with for the duration of the temporary licence.
In addition to ECTR, prisoners in the following groups will merit consideration for compassionate temporary release on a Special Purpose Licence:
a. Pregnant women
b. Prisoners with their babies in custody
c. Those defined by the NHS guidelines as ‘extremely vulnerable’ to Covid-19
Prisoners who are eligible and who meet the criteria above can apply for release on temporary licence (ROTL). A Special Purpose Licence is one of the provisions of the existing ROTL Policy Framework. Only those prisoners who pass a rigorous risk assessment and approval process, which includes input from Community Offender Managers, the police and other statutory agencies where appropriate will be released. These Covid-19 releases under Special Purpose Licence will involve some prisoners who would not in normal times be released on temporary licence, but for whom it may be appropriate in these unique circumstances.
Further information can be found in the published guidance on gov.uk
All prisoners released on a Covid-19 Special Purpose Licence are subject to supervision and support from the prison by their Prison Offender Manager and in the community by their assigned Community Offender Manager. Some prisoners are also subject to a daily curfew and GPS tagging as part of their individual risk management plan.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service provides ongoing support to establishments including direct conversations with governors where required. Guidance has also been issued to governors to support them and their staff in the delivery of the early release schemes.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with prison governors on the early release of prisoners as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
On 4 April, the Ministry of Justice announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme (ECTR). This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period.
No prisoners released under the ECTR scheme have been convicted of serious violent crimes as offenders serving sentences for violent crimes are not eligible for this scheme.
Further information can be found in the published guidance on gov.uk
All offenders released on ECTR are subject to electronic monitoring, which is in place before they are released from custody. Offenders released under ECTR are not subject to statutory probation supervision. However, upon release Community Rehabilitation Companies will deploy Through the Gate staff to ensure each offender has a nominated offender manager to remain in contact with for the duration of the temporary licence.
In addition to ECTR, prisoners in the following groups will merit consideration for compassionate temporary release on a Special Purpose Licence:
a. Pregnant women
b. Prisoners with their babies in custody
c. Those defined by the NHS guidelines as ‘extremely vulnerable’ to Covid-19
Prisoners who are eligible and who meet the criteria above can apply for release on temporary licence (ROTL). A Special Purpose Licence is one of the provisions of the existing ROTL Policy Framework. Only those prisoners who pass a rigorous risk assessment and approval process, which includes input from Community Offender Managers, the police and other statutory agencies where appropriate will be released. These Covid-19 releases under Special Purpose Licence will involve some prisoners who would not in normal times be released on temporary licence, but for whom it may be appropriate in these unique circumstances.
Further information can be found in the published guidance on gov.uk
All prisoners released on a Covid-19 Special Purpose Licence are subject to supervision and support from the prison by their Prison Offender Manager and in the community by their assigned Community Offender Manager. Some prisoners are also subject to a daily curfew and GPS tagging as part of their individual risk management plan.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service provides ongoing support to establishments including direct conversations with governors where required. Guidance has also been issued to governors to support them and their staff in the delivery of the early release schemes.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the prisoners released early as a result of the covid-19 outbreak were managed by (a) Community Rehabilitation Companies and (b) the National Probation Service on release.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
On 4 April, the Ministry of Justice announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme (ECTR). This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period.
No prisoners released under the ECTR scheme have been convicted of serious violent crimes as offenders serving sentences for violent crimes are not eligible for this scheme.
Further information can be found in the published guidance on gov.uk
All offenders released on ECTR are subject to electronic monitoring, which is in place before they are released from custody. Offenders released under ECTR are not subject to statutory probation supervision. However, upon release Community Rehabilitation Companies will deploy Through the Gate staff to ensure each offender has a nominated offender manager to remain in contact with for the duration of the temporary licence.
In addition to ECTR, prisoners in the following groups will merit consideration for compassionate temporary release on a Special Purpose Licence:
a. Pregnant women
b. Prisoners with their babies in custody
c. Those defined by the NHS guidelines as ‘extremely vulnerable’ to Covid-19
Prisoners who are eligible and who meet the criteria above can apply for release on temporary licence (ROTL). A Special Purpose Licence is one of the provisions of the existing ROTL Policy Framework. Only those prisoners who pass a rigorous risk assessment and approval process, which includes input from Community Offender Managers, the police and other statutory agencies where appropriate will be released. These Covid-19 releases under Special Purpose Licence will involve some prisoners who would not in normal times be released on temporary licence, but for whom it may be appropriate in these unique circumstances.
Further information can be found in the published guidance on gov.uk
All prisoners released on a Covid-19 Special Purpose Licence are subject to supervision and support from the prison by their Prison Offender Manager and in the community by their assigned Community Offender Manager. Some prisoners are also subject to a daily curfew and GPS tagging as part of their individual risk management plan.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service provides ongoing support to establishments including direct conversations with governors where required. Guidance has also been issued to governors to support them and their staff in the delivery of the early release schemes.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to issue electronic bracelets to people breaking quarantine restrictions in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The government uses electronic monitoring, tagging technology, where a requirement such as a curfew or exclusion zone is imposed by the court as part of a community order or suspended sentence order or to support court imposed Bail. The technology is also imposed on some eligible offenders on release from custody.
Parliament has provided the courts with the full range of sentencing powers to deal effectively with offenders who break social distancing rules. These range from fines to custodial sentences for more serious offences where coronavirus is used to threaten others. We have already seen significant sentences imposed on those using coronavirus as a threat. There are currently no plans in place to use electronic monitoring technology to monitor compliance with the Covid-19 regulations for the general public.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Secretary of State for Justice, what procedures are in place for tagging offenders by police services in England and Wales during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The MOJ has no procedures in place for offenders to be tagged by police services during the covid-19 outbreak. The tagging of offenders released from custody as a requirement of a licence or subject to court imposed electronic monitoring is carried out by the Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) not by police services during the covid-19 outbreak or otherwise. EMS is continuing to fulfil all the tagging requirements that it is responsible for and its staff have been designated key workers as their work is essential to the running of the justice system.
Those being released under the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme, which has been established for low-risk offenders within two months of release, as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives, are being fitted with a GPS tag on release and are subject to conditions requiring them to adhere to a curfew and the Government’s Covid-19 measures.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What plans he has to increase the use of electronic tagging.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
I am pleased to confirm to the Hon Gentleman that my Department completed the national roll-out across England and Wales of location monitoring GPS tags for adults in September last year. They have been well received by courts as an important additional tool to manage offenders in the community.
Building on this success, in November we began the phased roll out of GPS tags to under 18s. This will complete nationally in March this year.
To tackle offending fuelled by alcohol, we are introducing sobriety tags, increasing our electronic monitoring capabilities and our ability to manage offenders in the community effectively.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 20 June 2019 to Question 267275 on Offenders: Electronic Tagging, how many events were classed as formal breaches requiring further action.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Electronic monitoring, both of curfews and using satellite enabled tags to monitor an individual’s whereabouts, is a vital tool in protecting the public and robustly monitoring offenders in the community. It supports probation staff and the police in managing offenders and defendants safely in the community, delivering the orders of the court and helping to tackle the problems which lead to offending. Data that identifies the number of non-compliance events that lead to breach action is not held centrally and could only be identified at a disproportionate cost. |