The government has banned more than 1,800 people from enjoying alcohol this New Year.
Many people will bring in 2023 with the help of a few glasses of their favourite tipple. But some will have to do without as part of the government’s drive to protect the public from drink-fuelled crime.
Even Christmas Pudding and mulled wine are off the table for offenders who have been made to wear a tag over the Christmas and New Year period. The tags work by monitoring the alcohol content in an individual’s sweat and are accurate enough to distinguish between foods that contain low-levels of alcohol.
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Last Christmas around 800 offenders wore the device and just 12 months later the figure has more than doubled – helping to tackle alcohol-related crime over the festive period.
Offenders banned from alcohol have stayed sober on 97% of the days they were tagged, but those who do drink can face returning to court for further punishment, including prison. Some 39% of all violent crime in the UK involves alcohol, including domestic abuse which can rise during the festive period as figures provided by charities such as Women’s Aid have often demonstrated.
Prisons and probation minister Damian Hinds said: "Alcohol-fuelled crime such as domestic abuse is known to spike over the festive period, but our new alcohol tags can help stop that – protecting victims and tackling the causes of offending. We’re investing £183m in electronic monitoring and the increased use of sobriety tags is already helping to keep our communities safer."
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