NAO report finds thousands of offenders not wearing electronic tags
The National Audit Office report reveals that thousands of offenders are not wearing electronic tags as the government plans early release of prisoners, raising concerns about monitoring and public safety.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that nearly 9,000 people in England and Wales who were supposed to be fitted with an electronic tag in March were not wearing one. The tags are used to monitor offenders on bail, curfew, or released from prison. The NAO described the electronic monitoring system as inefficient and said it was creating risks to public safety. The Ministry of Justice disputed the figure, saying the number of unmonitored individuals was around 5,000 to 5,500 after accounting for those who had completed their orders.
The report comes at a critical time. The government is planning to release thousands of prisoners early from September to ease overcrowding in jails, including some convicted of rape and child sexual abuse. Electronic monitoring is a key part of the plan to keep the public safe. But the NAO found that less than half of those who should have been tagged were actually fitted within the standard number of attempts. Reasons included offenders not being at home or refusing to be tagged.
There are also concerns about how breaches are handled. The report revealed that the contractor running the tagging system does not have to notify probation or police of a breach until 29 to 53 hours after it happens. This means an offender could break a curfew and not be flagged for more than two days. Staff shortages in the probation service were also highlighted as a problem.
The Ministry of Justice said it is investing 100 million pounds into electronic monitoring and has recruited thousands of trainee probation officers. It said public protection is the priority. But victims' campaigners and the Victims Commissioner for London warned that the system is not working properly and that victims cannot feel safe if monitoring is unreliable. They called for the government to reconsider including domestic abusers and sex offenders in the early release scheme unless the tagging system can be made to work effectively.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC NEWS | BBC One | Channel 4 | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nearly 9,000 people who should have been tagged were not wearing one as of March. | · | |||
| The government is investing 100 million pounds in electronic monitoring. | · | · | ||
| The Ministry of Justice said the number of untagged individuals was around 5,000 to 5,500. | · | · | ||
| Less than half of those who should have been tagged were fitted within the standard number of attempts last year. | · | · | · | |
| The contractor does not have to report a breach until 29 to 53 hours after it happens. | · | · | · | |
| The government plans to release thousands of offenders early, including rapists and child sexual abusers. | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News focused on the core NAO findings and the government's rebuttal, framing the story as a key question about the government's ability to expand tagging while the system is not working. It included a direct quote from the correspondent questioning how the plan can work if monitoring is flawed.
- “Nearly 9,000 people in England and Wales who should have been fitted with an electronic tag were not.”
- “Ministers don't have an accurate understanding of the number of people who should be tagged.”
- “The Ministry of Justice says around 5,000 people are currently unmonitored, not nearly 9,000.”
BBC One West gave a very brief summary of the NAO report, focusing on the headline figure and the government's dispute. It did not include any analysis of early release or victim concerns, and the report was followed by an unrelated story about a Ryanair incident, suggesting it was treated as a short news item.
- “Nearly 9,000 criminals in England and Wales who were supposed to be wearing an electronic tag in March Didn't have one”
- “Ministry of Justice Disputes the figure saying they believe there are five and a half thousand unmonitored individuals”
Sky News provided a detailed breakdown of the NAO report, highlighting the breach reporting delay (29-53 hours) and the low rate of successful tag fittings. It framed the story around public safety risks and the government's plan to expand tagging, quoting the Ministry of Justice's response. The tone was factual but emphasised the system's inefficiencies.
- “less than half of those who should have been tagged Actually were within the standard number of attempts to tag them”
- “circles contract with the prison and probation service Does not require it to provide officials with details of the breach until 29 53 hours after it happens”
- “the government says they since revised those figures to account for people that had completed their orders or sentences and actually say the number Of people unmonitored as of March was more like five and a half thousand defenders”
Channel 4 focused heavily on the impact on victims and survivors, particularly those of rape and sexual abuse. It included an interview with the Victims Commissioner for London, Andrea Simon, who criticised the system and called for reconsideration of early release for domestic abusers. The report was framed as a failure of public protection, with emotional quotes from a survivor.
- “almost 9,000 people in England and Wales who are supposed to be fitted with an electronic tag are not wearing one”
- “the government is planning to release thousands more offenders early including rapists and child sexual abusers”
- “I think what it shows is the pressure that the probation service are currently under. We are not seeing offenders who qualify for electronic monitoring actually getting it and those that are when a breach is reported sometimes those breaches are not acted upon.”
Broadcast Timeline
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