This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Nationwide roll-out of electronic tagging
30/04/2002
The nationwide roll-out of the electronic tagging of offenders was launched today, with the opening of a new state-of-the-art monitoring centre in East Kilbride.
Justice Minister Jim Wallace opened the new facility, which from tomorrow, will provide the network base for Reliance Monitoring Services, the company contracted to provide a Scotland-wide electronic monitoring service for offenders on Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLOs).
The Executive announced plans last summer to make RLOs available as a community disposal to courts across Scotland. The rollout follows the successful piloting of RLOs in Hamilton, Peterhead and Aberdeen.
RLOs provide for the use of electronic monitoring as a means of monitoring an offender's compliance with a court order.
Mr Wallace said:
"Electronic monitoring has an important part to play in our criminal justice system as part of a package of measures to increase public safety and make our communities safer.
"The Restriction of Liberty Order complements the range of community disposals already available to the courts. It limits the opportunity for repeat offences, offering stability to those trying to break the lifestyle which may have contributed to the crime in the first place. It can also be used as part of a range of measures for the safe management of high risk offenders in the community."
Provision has been made in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill for the use of Restriction of Liberty Orders as a direct alternative to custody and for electronic monitoring to be used as a condition of a Probation Order or a Drug Treatment and Testing Order. At present, RLOs can be imposed as a community disposal. Powers in the Bill will make the RLO a direct alternative to a custodial sentence.
In addition, provision has also been made for remote monitoring to be made available to the Parole Board as a condition of release on licence.
Mr Wallace said:
"In our recent Criminal Justice Bill we introduced a range of measures for increasing public safety - one of our key priorities. This included additional uses of electronic monitoring."
"Electronic monitoring can be used for a range of different offenders and in some cases, can provide offenders with a starting point for breaking the chaotic lifestyles which can so often lead to the cycle of crime.
"Used as a condition of a Probation Order or Drug Treatment and Testing Order, it will increase the options available to sentencers as well as allow those who work with offenders to continue rehabilitation.
"Far from being a soft option, offenders' direct experience has shown that any violation is immediately detected and can result in their return to court.
The contract for the electronic monitoring of offenders on Restriction of Liberty Orders was awarded in January this year by the Scottish Executive to Reliance Monitoring Services Ltd.
The RLOs have been piloted in three sheriff courts - Aberdeen, Hamilton and Peterhead since August 1998. The Restriction of Liberty Order requires an offender to be restricted to a specific place for a maximum period of 12 hours per day up to a maximum of 12 months and/or from a specified place or places for up to 24 hours per day for up to 12 months. The Orders are available only to those aged 16 and over. The offender wears an unobtrusive transmitter (tagging device) on his or her ankle or wrist. The transmitter sends out a signal which is picked up by the monitoring unit when within the range. The monitoring unit is connected to a central computer system where information about the offender's presence or absence is permanently stored. If the offender is not in the correct place at the correct time then the computer will alert monitoring staff. The transmitter is waterproof and shock-resistant and if tampered with sends an instant signal to a central computer system which alerts the contractor to investigate.
Any violation of an RLO is immediately detected by the electronic monitoring equipment. Any offender who is proved to the satisfaction of the court to have failed to comply with an RLO, is subject to a fine, a variation of the order or it can be revoked.
In an evaluation of the first 18 months of the pilots, using 1998-99 data, researchers found, that the cost of an RLO was £2500 for a three month order and £4860 for a six month order. This compared with £13,456 as the average cost of a six month prison sentence and £1450 for a standard Probation Order. 'Evaluation of Electronically Monitored Restriction of Liberty Orders' was published on 21 July 2000 and is available on the Scottish Executive website.
Restriction of Liberty Orders were introduced by Section 5 of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997. This legislation also provides for the use of remote monitoring equipment to monitor offenders' compliance with the terms of the Orders.
The Criminal Justice Bill was introduced to Parliament on 26 March 2002.