Crime: Electronic tagging 'does not work'

The use of electronic tags to place offenders under "house arrest", trials of which are currently being extended by the Government, are deeply flawed, according to a report by a prison reform group.

Based on research from the United States, Canada and Sweden, the study claims that tagging cannot stop offenders breaching curfews or committing further crimes. They are also unlikely to reduce the jail population, and people wearing tags have been attacked by vigilante groups, says the Prison Reform Trust.

The critical report follows the Government's decision to double the area in which tags are on trial, in Greater Manchester, Reading and Norfolk, in an attempt to find an alternative to imprisonment.

The trust questions whether tagging is just an expensive political stunt.

Electronic Tagging: Viable Option or Expensive Diversion, pounds 3.50 from PRT, 15 Northburgh St, London EC1V OAH.