Electronic Tagging

Channel 4 and Channel 5 reported on a report finding that almost half of electronic tags used to track offenders' movements in England and Wales are not fitted on time. Both channels said the delays affect victims, with Channel 4 saying they could put victims at risk and Channel 5 saying they are putting victims in England and Wales at risk. The coverage said some offenders wait up to five months to be fitted with a tag, and Channel 4 added that there had been incidents of offenders breaching court and prison orders while waiting. Channel 4 also reported that the Ministry of Justice said the government was delivering the biggest expansion of tagging in British history, with 100 million pounds in funding. The channels differed on the source of the report: Channel 4 attributed it to the Prisons Inspectorate, while Channel 5 attributed it to HMIP, which it described as the Ofsted for probation.

Key Claims by Channel

Friday 10 July 2026

Claim
Reported by all 2 channels
A National Audit Office report stated that nearly 9,000 people in England and Wales who should have been fitted with an electronic tag were not.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
The Ministry of Justice disputed the NAO figure, stating that around 5,000 to 5,500 people are unmonitored.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
The government plans to release more inmates early from September to ease prison overcrowding, with most fitted with electronic tags, but the monitoring system is described as inefficient and risky, raising concerns.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Only on one channel
The Ministry of Justice says it is investing 100 million pounds into the electronic monitoring system.	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One

Tuesday 29 September 2026

Claim
Reported by all 3 channels
A report found that almost half of electronic tags used to track offenders in England and Wales are not fitted on time.
Reported by a few · 2 channels
A report found that delays in fitting electronic tags are putting victims in England and Wales at risk.		Not reported by BBC One
Some offenders wait up to five months to be fitted with an electronic tag.		Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Channel 4
The report was by HMIP, also referred to as the Prisons Inspectorate and described as the Ofsted for probation.	Reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Channel 4
Only on one channel
Offenders have breached court and prison orders while waiting to be fitted with an electronic tag.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by Channel 4
The Ministry of Justice said the government was funding the largest expansion of electronic tagging in UK history, with 100 million pounds.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One
Around 700 prisoners in England and Wales were set to be released early from prison within two days.	Not reported by Channel 5		Not reported by Channel 4

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.