London Mayor Sadiq Khan has celebrated the success of his GPS tagging scheme, which has seen domestic abusers, stalkers, and knife crime offenders fitted with GPS tags once they leave prison.
Under the Mayor’s GPS tagging scheme, domestic abuse offenders are fitted with tags which will monitor their location, enabling probation services and the police to ensure offenders are following the conditions of their release.
If GPS data shows that offenders have breached the conditions of their release, the police can take action and return them to prison.
Conditions can include not entering ‘exclusion zones’ which could cover the address of a victim and ensuring that offenders are arrested if they breach restraining orders or licence conditions. GPS location data can also be crucial to verify accounts of any re-offending behaviour.
GPS tagging of criminals is not limited to domestic abuse offenders. the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC)has successfully deployed similar schemes to target knife crime and stalking offenders.
The Mayor said that to date, over 2,150 knife crime and stalking offenders have been tagged with GPS devices as they return to London from prison.
A new analysis of the GPS tagging scheme for domestic abuse offenders revealed that those criminals fitted with GPS tags were 45% less likely to be charged with an offence in the following year, and 63% less likely to be charged with a violent offence.
A total of 699 domestic abuse offenders have been tagged with GPS devices following the introduction of the scheme, and 99% of those tagged were men.
Once tagged, the data shows that offenders exhibit a 50% reduction in the number of charges over 24 months. A total of 232 offenders were recalled to prison for not complying with their licence conditions, and GPS tags were used to detect non-compliance in over two-thirds of these instances.
“I’m determined to tackle violence against women and girls in all its forms. I’m pleased that my innovative GPS tagging scheme has been proven to protect women and girls from the perpetrators of domestic abuse and ensure they change their behaviour, not victims and survivors,” Sadiq Khan said.
“Results released today show the programme drastically cut the rate of reoffending. We continue to lead the way on the use of electronic monitoring to ensure that offenders comply with their sentences and that victims are protected.”
He added that alongside this enforcement action, he is also working to halt the spread of misogynistic attitudes in society and schools and to support the police in going after the most violent perpetrators.
“There is no place for domestic abuse anywhere in London and as Mayor I’ll continue to do all I can to protect women and girls, through enforcement and education to build a fairer and safer London for everyone,” Khan said.
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