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The Metropolitan Police Service (Met Police) is reducing enforcement action against certain minor electronic tagging and curfew breaches under a pilot scheme running until spring, as pressure on police resources grows following the early release of prisoners in England. Officers will continue reviewing breach notifications but will generally pursue potential arrests only where public safety, safeguarding concerns or an offender’s risk profile justify intervention.
The changes apply to people on court-imposed bail, including alleged offenders awaiting trial, rather than automatically covering every person released from prison early. The pilot is intended to allow officers to concentrate on high-risk breaches and persistent offending while reducing the demand created by incidents considered to pose a lower immediate risk.
The Met has confirmed that breaches involving curfew conditions or tag batteries lasting less than an hour will not routinely prompt enforcement action unless the individual is considered a particular risk to the public.
The pilot comes amid continuing concerns about police capacity and the demands associated with managing offenders in the community. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has previously warned about the pressures created by the Government’s early-release scheme, saying he was worried about its implications for policing.
According to figures cited by the Met, officers are dealing with more than 100 electronic tagging breach notifications a day. The force has also said it arrests around two or three prisoners released early each week who are subsequently recalled to prison following further offending.
The new approach is designed to reduce the number of breach incidents requiring police action by more than 15 per cent. The Met hopes the reduction will free up officers to investigate more serious offences, respond to persistent violations and pursue people whose behaviour presents a greater threat to the public.
Daily Dazzling Dawn understands that the policy is intended to change how officers assess and respond to breach notifications, rather than establish a blanket exemption for particular categories of offender.
Under the pilot, officers will continue to examine notifications generated by electronic monitoring systems. However, a breach will not automatically lead to an arrest simply because a curfew has been missed or a tag battery has been depleted for a short period.
The distinction is between receiving a notification and deciding that police intervention is necessary. Officers will assess the circumstances, including whether there are indications of further offending, risks to potential victims or other safeguarding concerns.
High-risk cases, including those involving domestic abuse perpetrators, will remain a priority. The Met has stressed that the revised approach is intended to direct enforcement towards cases where police action is most likely to protect the public.
Some apparent breaches may have legitimate explanations. An individual may leave their home to attend hospital, for example, or briefly cross the boundary of an area in which they are required to remain.
Electronic monitoring systems can also generate notifications after a delay. In some cases, police may not receive information about an apparent breach until hours after the incident occurred. Such delays can complicate decisions about whether an immediate response is necessary and whether officers have sufficient information to assess the circumstances.
However, the force acknowledges that breaches can also signal more serious concerns. A person who violates licence or curfew conditions may commit another offence, making effective risk assessment essential.
The Government has defended its approach to managing offenders in the community, arguing that action was necessary after inheriting a prison system under severe pressure from overcrowding.
A Government spokesperson said failing to address the prison capacity problem would have forced police to halt arrests, putting communities at significant risk.
The Government also said it was strengthening public protection through expanded electronic tagging, new restriction zones and measures giving victims a say in licence conditions. It has highlighted plans to put thousands more neighbourhood police officers on the streets, increase police funding to £18.5 billion and raise investment in the probation service to record levels.
The measures form part of the wider effort to manage offenders outside prison while maintaining public safety. However, the competing demands of monitoring offenders, responding to violations and preventing further crime remain a challenge for police and probation services.
Early prisoner release has remained a contentious feature of the criminal justice system under successive UK governments. Measures introduced to ease overcrowding have allowed eligible prisoners to leave custody earlier in their sentences, subject to the applicable rules and conditions.
Under the arrangements described in the source report, some prisoners serving eligible sentences can be released after serving half their sentence, rather than two-thirds under previous rules. Those serving certain less serious sentences may qualify for release after serving a third of their custodial term.
Release does not necessarily mean the end of a sentence. Offenders may remain subject to licence conditions, supervision and electronic monitoring for the remainder of the relevant period. A breach can lead to further action, including recall to prison where the legal requirements are met.
Electronic tags are also used for people on bail or awaiting trial. These arrangements serve a different legal purpose from post-release monitoring, which is why responsibility for managing the individual and responding to a breach can vary.
The Met has said that, in cases where previous breaches have produced no meaningful consequence through the courts, it is working with partners to consider the most appropriate response. The stated aim is to ensure that police time is directed towards incidents with the greatest potential impact on public safety.
The pilot raises questions about how police forces can balance enforcement obligations against limited resources while maintaining confidence in community supervision.
The Met's position is that deploying several officers for hours to investigate a brief absence, or a short delay in returning home reported long after the event, may not always represent the most effective use of resources. The force wants officers to focus on high-risk violations, repeated non-compliance and cases involving a credible threat to others.
The policy does not mean that electronic tag breaches are being ignored altogether. Notifications will still be reviewed, and risk or safeguarding concerns can trigger further action.
The pilot is due to run until spring, giving the force an opportunity to assess whether the revised approach reduces demand while allowing officers to prioritise serious risks. Its effectiveness will ultimately depend on whether police can distinguish genuinely minor incidents from warning signs of further offending without weakening safeguards for victims and the wider public.
For Daily Dazzling Dawn, the central issue is how the Met Police can make better use of limited resources while ensuring that offenders who pose a serious risk remain subject to appropriate enforcement.
