UK Justice Minister Admits Uncertainty on Tagging Status of Freed Inmates

Justice Secretary Alex Norris has acknowledged that he does not possess current figures on the number of prisoners released early from jail who have been fitted with electronic tags. Norris stated that it is "too soon" to ascertain the tagging status of the approximately 700 inmates freed last week under a government scheme aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.

This admission comes despite his department's assertion on Thursday, the day the first group of inmates were released, that "offenders leaving prison from today will be monitored under the toughest supervision in British history." The Ministry of Justice had described the initiative as the "biggest ever expansion of electronic monitoring in British history," with a "presumption that offenders will be electronically tagged and monitored when they leave prison."

When questioned on Sunday about how many of those released early had been tagged, Norris told the BBC, "I don't have that figure today, it only happened on Thursday. You know, there can be a bit of a lag." He explained that while some criminals are being tagged upon release as part of a pilot project, for others, "sometimes it can take a little bit of time."

Regarding concerns about domestic abusers being among those released, Norris stated that the government would have preferred to take further action but was constrained by the need to avoid perpetrators being bailed to their homes due to a lack of available prison places. He defended the current measures as mitigation.

When pressed on public confidence in the safeguards, given that 5,000 offenders have previously evaded court-ordered tagging, Norris acknowledged awareness of past issues but asserted that performance has "increased significantly" over the past year.

Norris also addressed a U-turn on plans to address the Crown Court backlog by curbing jury trials. His predecessor, David Lammy, had proposed changes to the Courts Bill that would have limited judges sitting alone to complex fraud cases. Norris insisted the backlog will still decrease through other measures, such as removing the "right to elect" for defendants to choose a jury trial. Under the revised approach, courts will determine case venues, and restrictions will be placed on appeals from the Magistrates Court to the Crown Court. Additionally, magistrates will have increased sentencing powers to handle more cases, which Norris believes will expedite the resolution of cases and reduce unacceptable waiting lists.