Prisoner freed early says ‘catastrophe ready to occur’ as tags warning issued

A firm in charge of putting tags on ex-prisoners could face “penalties” after inmates were released early from jail without them on.

Offenders should have been fitted with an electronic divide to make sure they keep to the rules of their licence, which often sets a curfew or restrictions on where they can go. Home Office minister Jess Phillips said security contractor Serco could face financial punishment for delays in fitting some offenders with electronic tags.

She told LBC radio she was “disappointed” to learn of the delays, adding: “It’s not the Government who has made the backlog in tags, it is a contract signed with Serco in May this year. And I have been in meetings with regard to ensuring that… any perpetrators of domestic abuse, are put to the top of the list, to ensure that they are being fitted with those tags.”

She continued: “The prisons minister, I believe, has had some pretty robust meetings…but the contract certainly has in it the allowances for there to be penalties.”

Some 1,700 prisoners were let out early from jail to ease overcrowding earlier this month. The new scheme sees certain inmates serving less than four years released after completing 40% of their sentence – rather than the standard 50% – in a bid to create more space in prisons. Those released will be supervised on licence by the Probation Service and if they violate their licence conditions, they risk being sent back to prison.

But evidence has emerged that some freed offenders have not been tagged, with one telling the BBC : “They should have tagged me but they haven’t and it means I can go where I choose. I don’t want to end up back inside so I’m sticking to the curfew, but I know people who aren’t doing that because they’ve not been tagged. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

Some prisoners were recalled to jail within days after being released early. Recalls to prison are expected, with nearly 2,000 people a month recalled to prison for breaching their licence after release.

Prisons minister Lord James Timpson held an “urgent” meeting with Serco leaders on Thursday evening, who accepted “the need for immediate action” and committed to eliminating the backlog that was causing delays. He added: “The delays to tagging are completely unacceptable.

“All offenders continue to be closely monitored by the Probation Service with stringent conditions and we are prioritising the tagging of domestic abusers on licence to ensure the safety of victims.”

An MOJ spokesman continued: “Tagging is an important part of our strategy to keep victims safe and cut reoffending, and there are currently record numbers of offenders wearing tags. We are holding Serco to account to address delays in fitting some offenders with tags, and will apply financial penalties against the company if this is not resolved quickly. While this issue is ongoing, we have prioritised tagging domestic-abuse offenders to make sure their licence conditions, such as staying away from their victims, are strictly followed.”

A Serco spokesman said: “Since we took over the electronic monitoring contract in May we have been working hard to reduce the number of people waiting to have a tag fitted. We work closely with the MoJ and the probation service to fit tags swiftly and prioritise cases based on risk profiles. Where an individual is not at home when we call to fit a tag the time taken can be longer. We prioritise making another visit so that people are tagged as soon as possible.”