Prisoners released without tags leave victims exposed

Michelle, a 38-year-old domestic violence survivor, is currently sleeping on the floor of a static caravan with relatives to protect her four children from an unmonitored former partner. She moved into the caravan following council advice after her ex-partner was released from prison in October 2025 without the GPS tracking device promised by police.

Her former partner, a crack cocaine user and father to her three-year-old son, was sentenced to 38 months in November 2024 for two counts of assault by beating and one count of affray. He had previously punched her, kicked in her front door, and threatened her with a knife in early 2024. Michelle’s 16-year-old son had to intervene to drag the man off her after he held her down by her hair.

The man was released in February 2025 with orders to stay away from Michelle’s home and her town. He breached these probation terms in July 2025, April 2026, and August 2026. Photos uploaded by him and friends showed him at parties and pubs in barred towns. Michelle reported two of these breaches, leading to his recall to prison for 56 days on both occasions.

Police liaison officers told Michelle that a GPS tag would be fitted upon his release on 15 October 2025. However, no device has been installed, leaving her without a means to track his movements. She described the situation as unfair because he can move freely in the local area despite a history of violence and probation breaches.

A report released on Thursday by the chief inspectors for probation and prisons states that nearly half of offenders are not tagged promptly upon release. In one in ten cases, a device is fitted up to five months later. The report identifies the private sector firm Serco as the contractor responsible for fitting these tags after release.

The inspectors found that Serco met its performance targets by attempting to fit devices rather than ensuring they were successfully installed and functioning. The primary reason for missing tags was that offenders were not at their agreed address when contractors arrived. This accounted for one-third of the 5,000 criminals in the community without tags.

Vikki Slade, the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, raised Michelle’s case in parliament on Monday. She questioned why domestic violence survivors with children are not receiving greater protection and called the current practice of releasing people without tags "utterly crazy."

Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the prison officers’ union POA, wrote to Justice Secretary Alex Norris proposing that prison officers be trained to fit and activate electronic tags before prisoners are freed. He argued that a formal assessment of insourcing the role is compelling given documented performance issues and the availability of public sector staff.

The Ministry of Justice responded that it is expanding electronic monitoring to tag more offenders before they leave prison gates. A Serco spokesperson stated that the firm attempts to fit a device to every person required to wear one and reports failures to the relevant authorities for further action.