United Kingdom: Ankle tags to monitor alcohol intake of violent offenders will be stepped up as figures show the scheme helps 97% of crooks released on probation stay booze-free

Electronic ‘sobriety tags’ are put on offenders to detect alcohol in perspiration

They trigger a remote alarm if offenders drink in breach of probation conditions

A total of 3,121 offenders have been monitored by them with 3,027 staying sober

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

April 4, 2022

Tags which monitor violent criminals for alcohol have notched up a 97 per cent success rate, figures reveal.

The electronic ‘sobriety tags’, which detect alcohol in perspiration, trigger a remote alarm if offenders drink in breach of probation conditions.

A total of 3,121 offenders have been monitored by the tags since a Welsh pilot scheme was extended to England 12 months ago, with 3,027 staying sober.

Offenders who break a booze ban can face jail or a fine. Crime and policing minister Kit Malthouse said: ‘We are ramping up our use of this innovative technology because it is working.’

The Ministry of Justice has already announced that use of sobriety tags will be expanded later this year as part of a £183million programme.

They are currently available for magistrates to impose as part of a community sentence.

From the summer the devices will also be used in England to monitor offenders who are released from jail.

Alcohol plays a part in 39 per cent of all violent crime in the UK, and the social and economic cost of drink-related harm is estimated to be around £21.5billion per year.

About a fifth of offenders supervised by the Probation Service have an alcohol problem.