It is taking up to five months to fit electronic tags on offenders, creating a ‘false sense of assurance’ for victims, a report has found. 

Almost half of the ankle tags used to track criminals’ movements are not fitted in a timely manner, according to an early briefing of the report. 

These delays led to repeated breaches of curfews and conditions imposed by court and prison orders. 

For the report, inspectors examined a snapshot of 180 people who were under electronic monitoring as part of their court order or licence conditions. 

Only 55 per cent of the ankle tags that monitor location were fitted on time, while just 60 per cent of alcohol monitoring tags were fitted promptly. It took five months for some criminals.

Alcohol tags monitor the level of ethanol in your sweat every 30 minutes and were designed for people whose crimes were driven by alcohol. 

The report also noted that authorities were not fully utilising data obtained from the tags, with major violations raised and explored in just 46 per cent of relevant cases. 

Investigators also found little evidence that electronic monitoring was being used consistently to promote positive behaviour change, such as reduced reoffending.

It is taking up to five months to fit electronic tags on offenders, creating a ‘false sense of assurance’ for victims 

Labour’s early release scheme started in September 2024 with the aim of easing overcrowding in jails

More than 2,500 prisoners are set to be freed before Christmas under Labour’s early release scheme and most will require tagging. 

This will mean a large expansion of the monitoring system currently in place.  

The system is used by the Probation Service to track curfews and conditions of a court or prison order. 

Martin Jones, chief inspector of probation for England and Wales, warned that ‘expanding tagging programmes without addressing their weaknesses risks overpromising and underdelivering on public protection’.    

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in September in the Commons that he understood the ‘anguish’ bereaved families faced as a result of changes to the early prisoner release programme, but he stopped short of apologising to them. 

Mr Jones added that the technology was falling short of its ‘potential’. 

Mr Jones said: ‘The findings of our inspection are clear: electronic monitoring is expanding rapidly, but the systems, processes and frontline practice needed to make it effective have not kept pace.

‘Until those issues are addressed, the criminal justice system risks relying on a technology whose potential is not being fully realised.

‘There is a real danger that electronic monitoring creates a false sense of assurance if the technology is not matched by effective professional practice.’

A total of 27,847 people were given tagging orders with equipment in England and Wales as of June 2026. 

In a statement to the BBC, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said the Government’s priority was ‘public protection’.

They said: ‘That’s why we are delivering the biggest expansion of tagging in British history, backed by £100 million in funding, with tag install rates up by nearly 50% since 2024.

‘This is part of our record £700 million investment in probation and community services, recruiting 2,300 trainee officers over the last two years and a further 1,300 this year – ensuring dangerous offenders are kept under closer surveillance than ever before.’

Experts warned earlier this month that ankle tags were ‘too slow’ to protect domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking victims from their attackers. 

Currently, if a criminal wearing an ankle tag breaches their exclusion zones, probation officers are just sent an email – meaning nothing will be done until the following day if the alert is sent out of working hours. 

As thousands of convicts are due to be set loose early from October under Labour’s early release scheme, watchdogs have said these alerts could come ‘too late’ for those living in fear of their abusers.

In the last six months, suspects breaching their tag conditions have already rocketed by nearly 50 per cent in London alone, from 2,977 in January to 4,408 in July.

Mr Jones said:  ‘At present, the electronic monitoring is too clunky and reactive. We need a shift to smoother, proactive management.

‘I know the Metropolitan Police have voiced very similar concerns around the need for faster real-time information.

‘If it is to command public confidence, we need electronic monitoring systems that can be used to provide faster responses where they are needed.’