GPS tags for released domestic abusers

A new pilot project announced in London will tag up to 200 domestic abusers released from prison as part of their release conditions and will run across all London boroughs. 

Offenders will be perpetrators of crimes such as sexual abuse, coercive control, physical abuse, harassment, and stalking. 

The Mayor of London’s office announced the pilot as part of a programme in collaboration with probation services which comes as a result of discussions with the Violence Against Women and Girls initiative. 

The National Probation Service have said that the scheme would provide an opportunity to utilise technology to better manage the risks to the past or current partners or children of offenders. The GPS systems will be used to monitor compliance with licence conditions and improve safety for previous or potential victims. 

The trial arrives off the back of warnings that incidents of domestic abuse have surged during the Covid-19 lockdown, with calls to helplines rising “week on week.” New figures suggest that almost fifty suspected killings may have occurred during the first lockdown.

The charity Women’s Aid greeted the announcement of the trial, but have insisted that it needs to be led in partnership with charities, groups, and organisations specialising in safeguarding women and girls. They called for the pilot to have “survivors at its heart, as they are the experts in the continued and ongoing risk that an abuser poses.”

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