Backlog of prisoners needing tags 'back to normal' - minister

The government's prisons minister Lord Timpson says the backlog of offenders who need electronic tags “has now been reduced to normal levels”.

This comes after several probation officers told the BBC that over the last month more than a dozen offenders had been recalled to prison because electronic ankle tags fitters had not been available.

These recalled offenders, they say, had been released early as part of the government's scheme to ease overcrowding in England and Wales.

One probation officer said: "It’s been a particular issue in the North East and North West, and the Midlands. It means extra work for us because if the tags can’t be fitted we have to increase our home visits and do all the paperwork for them to be sent back to prison".

The government began letting out prisoners early in September - with more than 1,700 let out early in England and Wales at first. In October, another 1,200 prisoners were released as part of the same scheme.

The justice secretary said it had prevented the prison system from reaching maximum capacity and "a total breakdown of law and order".

But the BBC reported how prisoners released early had not been fitted with electronic tracking devices, despite it being a condition of their release.

At the time Lord Timpson blamed Serco for the delays. Serco said it was working to reduce the numbers waiting for tags.

On Friday, Lord Timpson in a statement said: “In recent weeks I have been pushing Serco to sort the outstanding backlog in tagging offenders promptly. I am pleased to say this has now been reduced to normal levels.

"I will continue to hold Serco to account and will not hesitate to impose further financial penalties should its performance drop again”.

Serco is the security contractor which manages the prison tagging system.

But probation staff say this week they were told by the government that the backlog of offenders who needed to be tagged had reached "acceptable levels". But the government has not defined what that exactly means.

One probation officer said: “Does that mean 90% have been tagged or 50%? These problems have been going on for months and if they’ve just sorted the backlog, that doesn’t mean they’ve sorted the problem.

“Our workload is at ridiculous levels already and we’re being expected to do stuff like breathalyse people because they haven’t got an alcohol tag. We shouldn’t be doing this”.

Many of those let out early were released on licence.

In some cases, that means having to wear an ankle tag so that their movements can be monitored to check they are obeying a curfew or following other restrictions.

A Serco spokesperson said: “We continue to work closely with MoJ and the Probation Service to deal with the increased volume of tagging following the early release scheme.

“We have record numbers of staff fitting tags and are dealing with cases promptly, prioritising based on agreed risk profiles.”