Prisoners' Release: Electronic Tagging

(asked on 5th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were released with electronic monitoring tags under a scheme introduced as part of measures to limit the spread and impact of covid-19 in the prison estate.


Answered by
Victoria Atkins Portrait
Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This question was answered on 10th January 2022

In April 2020 we leased an additional 2,000 electronic monitoring tags to support our End of Custody Temporary Release scheme to limit the spread and impact of Covid-19 in prions. This was based on early estimates that up to 4,000 prisoners could be eligible. Early release on tag was one element of our approach. Other measures included reducing numbers on remand, creating extra cells, limited prisoner movements, isolating prisoners with symptoms, shielding the vulnerable and quarantining new arrivals.

In considering these early releases, the priority of HM Prison and Probation Service was to put the safety of the public first, which is why offenders needed to meet strict eligibility criteria and pass a risk assessment to be released early.

Between April 2020 when the scheme was introduced and August 2020 when the scheme was paused, 262 prisoners were released with an electronic tag. A number of surplus tags were also used elsewhere in the criminal justice system in support of our ambition to make full use of the benefits of electronic monitoring technology.

We continue to keep the options for reducing the impact of Covid-19 in the prison estate under review. However, at this stage there are no plans to reintroduce the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme.

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