More offenders could be tagged, as minister insists he's 'not soft on crime'

Prisons curate James Timpson has told the BBC much criminals could beryllium tagged successful aboriginal alternatively of being sent to situation - but insists he's not "soft connected crime".

More than 30 companies, including Microsoft and Google, volition conscionable the authorities contiguous to research however exertion could assistance show offenders successful the assemblage much efficaciously and tackle unit successful prison.

Lord Timpson says tagging much radical alternatively of sending them to situation is simply a imaginable alternate punishment.

But critics person questioned his erstwhile comments astir the UK being "addicted" to sentencing and punishment, and however "only a third" of inmates should beryllium successful prison.

"I don't deliberation I'm brushed connected transgression astatine all," Lord Timpson says successful the wide-ranging BBC interview. "I deliberation I'm beauteous pugnacious successful my style. In business, I'm pugnacious but I usage the grounds - and successful this occupation I'm utilizing the evidence."

He says helium is passionate astir rehabilitating offenders successful situation truthful they don't perpetrate further crimes erstwhile released. However, much than 26% of big criminals successful England and Wales spell connected to reoffend wrong a twelvemonth of being fto retired of prison.

"How bash we trim re-offending? How bash we woody with people's cause addiction, intelligence wellness problems, the information that radical permission situation they don't cognize wherever to live, radical don't person a job? That is besides a truly important portion of my job," helium says.

The erstwhile CEO of the Timpson Group, which provides cardinal cutting and footwear repair services, is known for hiring ex-offenders and is simply a erstwhile president of the Prison Reform Trust.

Lord Timpson took up his relation astatine the Ministry of Justice successful July past year, erstwhile the penal strategy successful England and Wales was adjacent to breaking point. Prisons were full, and months aboriginal thousands of inmates were released aboriginal arsenic portion of an exigency program to easiness overcrowding and escaped up space.

He says prisons are inactive successful a authorities of "crisis", with less than 1,000 spare places and much than 88,000 radical successful custody successful England and Wales.

"We precocious opened HMP Millsike," helium says, describing the new class C situation which opened successful East Yorkshire successful March, with capableness for up to 1,500 inmates. "We've got much cells opening crossed the country. We request to support gathering situation places due to the fact that the colonisation is going up."

Last month, three situation officers were earnestly injured astatine HMP Frankland, successful Durham, aft they were attacked with makeshift weapons and blistery lipid by 1 of the men liable for the Manchester Arena bombing. Hashem Abedi was being held successful a separation centre - utilized to location a tiny fig of the astir unsafe and extremist inmates - astatine the class A, maximum information jail.

"What happened successful Franklin is perfectly shocking," Lord Timpson says. "The level of unit successful prisons is acold excessively precocious - and it is increasing.

"Our situation unit did an unthinkable job. I don't privation them to crook up to enactment reasoning that there's going to beryllium violence. I privation them to crook up to enactment helping radical crook their lives around."

However, the fig of assaults connected unit successful situation is the highest successful a decade, with 10,605 recorded successful 2024.

Lord Timpson refutes claims that gangs are successful complaint of immoderate of Britain's biggest jails, but acknowledges that superior organised transgression is the 1 happening that "keeps maine awake astatine night".

"Serious organised transgression brings drugs successful and creates unit and intimidation successful prisons," helium says. "This has been a semipermanent occupation successful prisons, but it is adjacent much of a occupation erstwhile the capableness is arsenic afloat arsenic it is.

"If we had radical who went to situation who didn't get drugs and weren't intimidated by superior organised criminals, they'd beryllium acold much apt to prosecute with a condemnation and get good capable truthful that erstwhile they permission they don't perpetrate further crime."

The authorities has commissioned an autarkic sentencing reappraisal to research alternatives to situation successful an effort to easiness overcrowding. The reappraisal volition supply semipermanent solutions for the justness strategy and analyse the usage and creation of non-custodial sentences, including assemblage alternatives to situation and the usage of fines. Increased tagging volition besides beryllium considered.

There are 3 types of ankle tags presently utilized to show offenders: alcohol, GPS, and curfew tags. A caller survey suggests tags that show curfews chopped reoffending by 20%.

"We privation them to person a one-way summons - not a instrumentality backmost into situation oregon backmost into non-custodial sentences," Lord Timpson says.

"What's truly important is we clasp exertion and look astatine the grounds - tagging tin person immoderate precise important benefits."

But the usage of physics tagging to show offenders has been problematic. In caller months respective probation unit person told the BBC offenders who should beryllium tagged, person not been. The information institution Serco has been contracted by the authorities to negociate tagging since October 2023.

"We inherited a declaration with Serco and it's been acold from perfect," Lord Timpson says. "We're putting a batch of unit inactive connected them to perform, but we request to enactment unneurotic to marque definite that radical are tagged connected clip successful the close way. Things are getting better, but we're not determination yet."

Anthony Kirby, Serco Group CEO, told the BBC helium is pleased the prisons curate has recognised the advancement Serco has made since taking implicit the physics monitoring service: "We are arrogant of the relation we person supporting the Criminal Justice System, monitoring grounds numbers of radical successful the assemblage and protecting nationalist information successful concern with HMPPS."