Criminals’ telephone calls and automobile journeys may very well be tracked in bid to punish exterior jail

Criminals could have their phone calls and car journeys monitored under plans to punish offenders in the community.

Prisons minister James Timpson is expected to visit Spain in December to look at their use of open prisons, tagging and other monitoring tools.

Labour last month launched a sentencing review to look at tough alternatives to custody, such as using technology to place criminals in a “prison outside prison”. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said offenders could be ordered to serve their sentences at home instead of in jail in a bid to “reshape and redesign what punishment outside of a prison looks like”.

Lord Timpson is hoping to look at how Spain’s measures infringe criminals’ lives in the community, allowing for more offences to be served outside of jail. A government source told the Mirror: “It’s about replicating conditions that you’d ordinarily have in prison but at home.”

In England and Wales prison staff can listen to and record most types of calls with a few exceptions including when a prisoner calls a legal adviser. Spain uses black box remote trackers to keep tabs of offenders’ cars. The country in 2018 partnered with Attenti, a leading firm in electronic monitoring that has used radio, GPS, phone lines, alcohol detection and voice verification to track offenders.

At an event hosted by the Institute for Government on Tuesday, Lord Timpson said: “I’m a big believer in technology and how technology can support probation’s work, not just in reducing the amount of admin and copying and pasting they need to do but also how we can manage offenders with electronic monitoring. I’m going out to Spain in a few weeks’ time to have a look at what they’re doing there on electronic monitoring. There’s a lot to learn.”

In the UK offenders can be monitored using tags to keep track of curfews or their location or to monitor alcohol consumption by measuring the wearer’s sweat. Other tech being explored includes special wrist watches that “nudge” offenders about appointments with probation officers or mental health services.

Electronic monitoring is an important part of the Ministry of Justice’s strategy to cut reoffending and keep victims safe. Community punishment has a significant impact on reoffending with those serving a custodial sentence of six months or less having a 59% reoffending rate, compared to 24% for offenders punished with suspended sentences or community orders.

No decisions have yet been made on adopting new electronic monitoring systems but they will be hashed out in the sentencing review, which will submit its findings to the Lord Chancellor by Spring 2025. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The new Government inherited prisons on the point of collapse which is why the Lord Chancellor took swift action by introducing emergency measures.

“The Sentencing Review has been launched and will consider all options to deal with the prison crisis in a sustainable way, including looking at what has worked in other countries. It will report back next Spring and the Government will consider all recommendations carefully.”