David Neal publishes the report of the inspection of the Global Positioning System (GPS) electronic monitoring of Foreign National Offenders, March – April 2022

When he published the study, David Neal stated:

This research, which examines the Home Office’s implementation of GPS electronic tracking (also known as “tagged”) of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs), following the introduction of the Home Secretary’s duty in August 2021, is to be applauded for its disclosure.

Tagging is done to increase the removal of FNOs and decrease absconding.

The service is still in the first six months of its rollout, according to this inspection, hence it cannot yet be shown that it is accomplishing these goals.

The Electronic Monitoring Hub (the “Hub”) of the Home Office had a solid workforce and a great work environment, but their efforts were hindered by lengthy and onerous hiring procedures and an overestimate of the scope of the legal challenge.

Due to a lack of staff, the 3-monthly reviews of those who are wearing tags were delayed and official consequences for violations were not applied, which threatens to undermine the effectiveness of the entire program.

The Home Office is expanding its use of electronic monitoring, including the delayed introduction of non-fitted devices, which is a significant component of its strategy.

The Hub needs to have a clear plan for what can be accomplished during this time.

Continuous improvement must be supported by a thorough training program for both new and existing employees, the deployment of quality assurance procedures, and improved supplier performance management.

Additionally, more work is required to create reliable and trustworthy data.

The Hub’s areas of activity currently have inconsistent data, and there is no data quality strategy in place to guarantee that information—including sensitive information about FNO movements—is being correctly managed.

In my study, I offered five recommendations. I am happy that the Home Office fully accepted all of these recommendations and that action is being taken to address the issues brought up.