Some prisoners released early without being tagged

Some prisoners released aboriginal arsenic portion of efforts to easiness overcrowding person not been fitted with physics tracking devices, contempt it being a information of their release, the BBC has been told.

Several offenders released connected licence said they had not been fitted with an ankle tag - with 1 describing it arsenic "a catastrophe waiting to happen".

One probation serviceman said the delays successful the tags being fitted appeared to beryllium owed to a shortage of tags, portion the Ministry of Justice said it was owed to a backlog of erstwhile prisoners.

The MoJ blamed information contractor Serco - which manages the situation tagging strategy - for the delays. Serco said it was moving to trim the numbers waiting for tags.

Prisons curate Lord Timpson is having what the MoJ described arsenic an urgent gathering with Serco astir the contented aboriginal this afternoon.

More than 1,700 prisoners were fto retired early successful England and Wales past week arsenic portion of the government's strategy to code overcrowding successful prisons.

The justness caput said this had prevented the situation strategy from reaching maximum capableness and "a full breakdown of instrumentality and order".

But the strategy has been criticised arsenic risking nationalist safety, portion not each victims were made alert of their offender's aboriginal merchandise date.

Offenders jailed for convulsive offences with sentences of astatine slightest 4 years, enactment offenders and home abusers were not eligible for aboriginal release, the authorities has said.

Many of those fto retired past week were released connected license.

In immoderate cases, that means having to deterioration an ankle tag truthful that their movements tin beryllium monitored to cheque they are obeying a curfew oregon pursuing different restrictions.

Those who are not tagged are capable to enactment without being monitored - expanding the hazard of reoffending and information to the public.

One offender released past week told the BBC: "They should person tagged maine but they haven’t and it means I tin spell wherever I choose.

"I don’t privation to extremity up backmost wrong truthful I’m sticking to the curfew, but I cognize radical who aren't doing that due to the fact that they’ve not been tagged. It’s a catastrophe waiting to happen."

In his case, helium has been told to enactment astatine location from 19:00 to 07:00.

Another offender released past week said: "I person to enactment indoors till I get fitted, which means I can’t permission and it’s doing my caput successful - but I don’t privation to get recalled into jail, truthful I’d alternatively bash that but it would beryllium easier if I was tagged. It’s a disgrace."

Three probation officers spoke to BBC News connected information of anonymity.

One, who said they believed the contented was down to a shortage of tags, said: "We’re proceeding the aforesaid communicative from respective unit saying that radical haven’t been tagged yet and it’s going to origin problems.

"Seems similar radical were released without the conditions connected which they were released connected being decently ready, and that could perchance beryllium dangerous."

Tagging oregon Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is simply a strategy which allows immoderate radical to beryllium released aboriginal from custody if they person a suitable code to spell to.

If idiosyncratic is released connected HDC, they person rules to travel astir wherever they tin spell and what clip they person to beryllium backmost astatine home.

It allows the authorities to show the movements of an offender to disuade them from reoffending.

According to Martin Jones, the main inspector of probation, astir a 3rd of those released aboriginal past week are expected to reoffend.

The tagging strategy is operated by Electronic Monitoring Services (EMS), an organisation which is managed by Serco nether a declaration with the MoJ.

An MoJ spokesperson said: "Tagging is an important portion of our strategy to support victims harmless and chopped reoffending, and determination are presently grounds numbers of offenders wearing tags.

"We are holding Serco to relationship to code delays successful fitting immoderate offenders with tags, and volition use fiscal penalties against the institution if this is not resolved quickly.

"While this contented is ongoing, we person prioritised tagging domestic-abuse offenders to marque definite their licence conditions, specified arsenic staying distant from their victims, are strictly followed."

A Serco spokesperson said: "Since we took implicit the physics monitoring declaration successful May we person been moving hard to trim the fig of radical waiting to person a tag fitted.

"We enactment intimately with the MoJ and the probation work to acceptable tags swiftly and prioritise cases based connected hazard profiles.

"Where an idiosyncratic is not astatine location erstwhile we telephone to acceptable a tag the clip taken tin beryllium longer. We prioritise making different sojourn truthful that radical are tagged arsenic soon arsenic possible."