Microchips might be put underneath prisoners’ pores and skin to trace them in sci-fi plan
Leaked minutes reveal sci-fi plans to microchip convicts to track them, as data shows 75,000 criminals have been freed early under Labour’s justice scheme
Prisoners could soon have tracking microchips implanted directly under their skin (Image: Reuters)
Prisoners could soon have tracking microchips implanted directly under their skin as part of a radical, sci-fi-inspired strategy to revolutionise the justice system. Tech industry chiefs reportedly pitched the proposal to monitor offenders 24/7 in real time during a secretive “roundtable” meeting.
The high-level talks, which took place last year but have only just come to light, involved Prisons Minister Lord Timpson and giants of the tech world. More than 30 major corporations, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, brainstormed futuristic overhauls for Britain’s embattled prison system.
Alongside sub-dermal tracking chips, proposals included driverless prison transport vans, automated jails run entirely by robots and artificial intelligence designed to predict an offender’s likelihood of committing future crimes.
Official minutes from the closed-door summit were forced into the open following a Freedom of Information request by tech justice campaign group Foxglove. Reacting to the disclosures, the group expressed deep concern to prison newspaper Inside Time, branding the concepts “alarmingly dystopian”.
A spokesperson for Foxglove said: “It’s worrying that justice ministers have sat with the tech sector to discuss using robots to manage prisoners, implanting devices under people’s skin to track their behaviour, or using computers to ‘predict’ what they will do in future.”
During the meeting, Lord Timpson pushed for a complete overhaul of the current infrastructure. He said: “Once-in-a-generation reform is the only way we can truly deal with the scale of the crisis, cut crime and speed up justice.”
The minister made no secret of his desire to embed digital advancements into the system, adding: “I want technology to play an integral role in tackling these problems and making our streets safer.” He informed tech bosses that the talks were “just the start of a new conversation between us and you.”
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) initially withheld the finer details of the summit. But officials later said the discussion was meant to evaluate the “potential for even more effective tracking of offender movement.”
Then-Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood supported the drive for innovation at the time. She said: “We need bold ideas to address the challenges that we face – supporting our staff, delivering swifter justice for victims and cutting crime.”
While officials debated the futuristic vision, fresh MoJ data revealed a more immediate crisis on the ground. A staggering 60,108 offenders were released early onto the streets during the initial 16 months of a controversial Labour justice initiative.
The scheme, introduced by Mahmood, permits convicts to walk free after serving a mere 40 per cent of their custodial sentences. Recent quarterly data shows releases are averaging over 3,700 a month, indicating the total number of early releases has likely reached 75,000.
The data shows that nearly 1,500 serious criminals sentenced to over a decade behind bars have benefited from early release. It includes 490 individuals handed terms of 14 years or more and 980 who received sentences between 10 and 14 years.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy blasted the figures, arguing criminals were being “let out early as a deliberate political choice by a government too weak to build the prison places the country needs”.
Defending the strategy, an MoJ assessment published in January warned that without the emergency reforms, British jails would have entirely run out of space as early as June this year. The Government estimates the sentencing changes will curb the projected growth of the prison population by 7,500 by 2028.
