The Metropolitan Police will no longer routinely respond to some electronic tag breaches under a new trial scheme, with officers focusing on higher-risk cases.
Under the pilot, officers will not automatically act on curfew or tag-battery breaches lasting less than an hour, unless there is a risk to the public or a safeguarding concern. Notifications will still be reviewed, but only higher-risk cases will progress towards a possible arrest.
Pressure on the criminal justice system
The move comes as the force warned that pressures across the criminal justice system “cannot always fall on policing”. The pilot will run until spring and applies to people bailed by the courts, including those awaiting trial.
High-risk cases, such as breaches of conditions designed to protect victims of domestic abuse, will be prioritised for responses under the scheme.
Commissioner's concerns
A Met spokesperson said: “Where offenders have briefly stepped outside for a cigarette, or police are notified 19 hours later that they were 15 minutes late returning home, tying up several officers for hours is not the best use of resources.”
The Met is Britain’s largest police force. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said its officers are policing more than 100 tagging breaches a day, while the force said some low-level breaches have resulted in no consequences through the courts.
Focus on higher-risk cases
Sir Mark Rowley recently raised concerns about the pressure on officers. He said: “95%-plus of the tagging breaches that we arrest are simply being bailed back into the community on the same condition, so there is zero sanction”.
He said: “We’re getting increasing numbers of tag breaches that to enforce that probation are sending to us. I think it’s now over 100 tag breaches a day in London, we’re being sent.” But he said tagging “could work”.
Sir Mark Rowley said: “I think if you put someone in the community, you’re saying, Nick, we’re giving you a chance, we’re putting you in the community, but you need to behave, and we’re going to monitor your behaviour through tagging. I think that is a reasonable thing to do.”
The Met said it was working with partners to find appropriate consequences for breaches that have previously led to someone being bailed back into the community on the same conditions. It said the aim was to focus police time where it would have the greatest impact.
The Met spokesperson said: “We understand the pressures across the criminal justice system. To best protect the public, those pressures cannot always fall on policing and certainly not without prioritisation. Where there is a risk to the public, particularly if someone is breaching conditions designed to protect a victim, we will absolutely respond.”
