Criminal tagging bill cut by a third

The government has awarded contracts to two companies for the electronic monitoring of offenders.

The Home Office has picked Securicor Justice Service and Premier Monitoring Services to run the offender monitoring scheme, which has so far tracked 175,000 individuals in England and Wales. Previously, the scheme was run by three separate companies, each with different regional jurisdictions.

The two companies will be responsible for providing and installing any new tech, watch out for any violations and, if necessary, take those breaking their probation back to court.

The contracts will run from 1 April 2005 for five years, with the option to extend them for two further years. The Home Office said it would save 35 per cent on the deal and is looking to double the number of offenders it can track by 2008.

Most of the offenders currently tracked by the system are on adult curfew or home detention orders and are tracked via a transmitter attached to their ankle.

Last month, the Home Office announced that it would begin a pilot scheme to track offenders in Manchester, West Midlands and Hampshire with GPS and, unlike traditional tracking, would use the satellite system to track high-risk criminals including those who have been convicted of sex offences and domestic violence.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said that he aimed to use new technology to make sure offenders were sticking to the conditions of their release.