Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders released on home detention curfew in each of the last three years breached their curfew condition; and what proportion of those offenders were subsequently recalled to prison.

The following table gives the number of offenders released on HDC who were reported for potential breach of the curfew related conditions of their release licence, and the number and proportion who were recalled for such breaches in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

1.The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

2. A small number of recalls may be based on breach reports received the preceding year. For example, a recall on 1 January might be based on a breach report received on 31 December.

Where a report of potential breach of the curfew related conditions from the electronic monitoring provider is received, officials acting on behalf of the Secretary of State must decide whether there has in fact been a breach and, if so, what action should be taken. Having regard to all the offender’s overall level of compliance and to what the breach indicates as to the offender’s risk, s/he might be recalled to prison or issued with a warning. In some cases, no action will be taken, for example, where the offender had a verified legitimate reason for being absent from the curfew address.

HDC is a robust scheme which allows suitable, risk assessed, prisoners to work towards rehabilitation in the community, while remaining subject to strict monitoring and other conditions. If they breach these, they can be returned to custody.