Offenders being freed from jail in England, who are at risk of committing crimes after drinking, may be required to wear “sobriety tags” or handed alcohol bans. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the scheme, which is being launched after it was rolled out in Wales last year, will target at least 1,900 prison leavers over the next two years.
Under the programme, electronically monitored tags will be used to check alcohol levels in sweat for former prisoners who are deemed capable of reoffending after drinking. Others could be handed an alcohol ban to prevent them from drinking if probation officers believe they may have a problem, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Criminals caught breaching their alcohol restrictions could face being sent back to jail, the department said. An extra £183 million will be funnelled into electronic monitoring by 2025 to almost double the number of offenders tagged at any one time to approximately 25,000, the MoJ said.
