London violence: Knife offenders to be tagged on release from prison

One of the many knives seized by police in London this year

Dozens of knife offenders in London will be tagged with GPS devices upon release from jail, Sadiq Khan has said.

The Mayor of London announced the project as part of his public health approach to tackle "unacceptably high" levels of violent crime in the city.

Last year nearly 80 people were stabbed to death in London.

The trial will target 100 offenders across the four London boroughs worst hit by knife crime - Lewisham, Lambeth, Croydon and Southwark.

Those deemed most likely to reoffend will have their movements automatically checked against locations of reported crime and matches will be shared with police.

Mr Khan said the causes of violent crime were "extremely complex".

• Sadiq Khan and Government decline TV debate

• How London's deadliest year in a decade began

• Can Chicago's model cure the violence?

Trackers will be fitted to offenders leaving prison for crimes such as knife possession, wounding and grievous bodily harm under the plan to be launched on 18 February.

The latest measures are part of the Violence Reduction Unit which aims to mirror an approach successfully used in Glasgow to get police, housing, health and care workers to work together to tackle violence.