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<\/p>\nMore than 50 dim-witted criminals have been charged over offences committed while wearing GPS tags fitted when they were originally released from prison, figures show.<\/p>\n
The Government’s tagging scheme, launched in April 2021, has reduced reoffending rates from 25 per cent to less than two per cent, data indicates.<\/p>\n
Even though they are guaranteed to be caught because of the tracking device, some released offenders have still not been able to resist the old criminal urges.<\/p>\n
Justice secretary Alex Chalk said he planned to double the number of criminals tagged to more than 8,000 as part of a \u00a3156million investment in electronic monitoring technology.<\/p>\n
‘With one of these round their ankle, knowing that it is tracking their location, the data suggests that offenders are less likely to go back to their old ways,’ he said.<\/p>\n
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Justice secretary Alex Chalk (pictured) said he planned to double the number of criminals tagged to more than 8,000 as part of a \u00a3156million investment in electronic monitoring technology<\/p>\n
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Police used a GPS tag on Ryan Cooney’s leg to prove he had ripped a woman’s bag from her shoulder before threatening McDonald’s staff<\/p>\n
‘In fact, of more than 700,000 crimes, geolocation data is able to rule out tagged offenders in the overwhelming majority of cases, showing that they are tending to stay out of trouble.’<\/p>\n
The technology can tell police when a tagged offender is in the vicinity of an unsolved crime, and also allows forces to eliminate suspects early from investigations if the tracking data indicates they were not at the scene.<\/p>\n
Despite the deterrent, dozens of shoplifters, muggers and burglars have reoffended while wearing one of the devices – with 58 charges brought after police used GPS data to link crooks with crime scenes.<\/p>\n
Among them was a thug who robbed a branch of McDonald’s and mugged a woman in the street while tagged with a GPS tracker.<\/p>\n
Police used the tag on Ryan Cooney’s leg to prove he had ripped a woman’s bag from her shoulder before threatening restaurant staff until they gave him money from the till in Strood, Kent, last August.<\/p>\n
Cooney was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty at Maidstone Crown Court.<\/p>\n
Prolific burglar Ambrose Treeby also wore his electronic tag while looting the homes of elderly women, including a 90-year-old whose bank account he raided \u00a320,000 from.<\/p>\n
Police used data from the 39-year-old’s tag to prove he had stolen the cash and he was jailed for 40 months for two burglaries and a count of fraud.<\/p>\n
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The Government’s tagging scheme, launched in April 2021, has reduced reoffending rates from 25 per cent to less than two per cent, data indicates (stock image of electronic tag)\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Prolific burglar Ambrose Treeby wore his electronic tag while looting the homes of elderly women, including a 90-year-old whose bank account he raided \u00a320,000 from<\/p>\n
A former serial burglar named only as Andy, from Gwent, said: ‘The tag makes you feel like you’re being watched 24\/7 – you’d be crazy to go back to your old ways.<\/p>\n
‘Having it put around my ankle felt like the fresh start I needed to turn my life around and now I’m on the straight and narrow, running my own business.’<\/p>\n
The pilot was rolled out across 19 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, with the scheme expected to expand further.<\/p>\n
Mr Chalk said: ‘Tagging allows us to take a new, smart, approach to punishment.<\/p>\n
‘We can stick criminals on a tag that can tell us if they’ve left the house, if they’re somewhere they shouldn’t be, or even if they’ve drunk alcohol.<\/p>\n
‘Tags allow us to put limits on liberty and impose tough punishment, delivering a real sense of justice that works as a deterrent against further offending and can force criminals on to the straight and narrow.<\/p>\n
‘They are key to cutting crime, ending the scourge of petty theft, and reducing reoffending.’<\/p>\n