Security company Serco could face penalties after some prisoners released early not tagged, minister tells LBC
by Kit Heren · LBCExclusive
By Kit Heren
A security company hired by the government could be fined after failing to fit some of the inmates freed early this month with electronic tags, a minister has told LBC.
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Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that Serco may face penalties after it emerged that some offenders, including convicted domestic abusers, had not been fitted with tags.
The tags allow officials to track the locations of offenders, potentially protecting their former victims in some cases.
Prisons minister James Timpson has had "robust" meetings with the contracting company over the tagging issue and will be holding them to account, Ms Phillips said.
Serco, who were given the tagging contract in May, said that sometimes people are not tagged as soon as they could be because they are not at home when staff come round to fit the tags.
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They said that they prioritise tagging based on the perceived risk of the offender.
Around 1,700 people were released early from prison earlier this month because of overcrowding, with more expected in October. Several of them have already been recalled to jail.
Ms Phillips told Nick that she was disappointed by the tagging issue, and pointed out that the Serco contract was in place before Labour came to power in July.
"It’s not the government who has made the backlog in tags, it is a contract signed with Serco in May this year," she said.
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“And I have been in meetings with regard to ensuring that… any perpetrators of domestic abuse, are put to the top of the list, to ensure that they are being fitted with those tags.”
She added: “The prisons minister, I believe, has had some pretty robust meetings, and is meeting with Serco today, but the contract certainly has in it the allowances for there to be penalties.
“I’m almost certain that in this case, that unless something massively improves very, very quickly, that all of those things will be considered.”
Ms Phillips also labelled the early release of domestic abusers "very worrying". She added: "In the face of this terrible decision that has had to be made, we have tried to, where best, put in place all the safeguards and I have worked on it night and day really since I’ve been in office."
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Timpson, the prisons and probation minister, said in a statement that the delays to tagging were "completely unacceptable".
He added: "I called an urgent meeting with Serco leaders yesterday evening where they accepted the need for immediate action and personally committed to me to eliminate the backlog.
“I expect this to be done at pace over the coming weeks and will be holding them to account.
“All offenders continue to be closely monitored by the Probation Service with stringent conditions and we are prioritising the tagging of domestic abusers on licence to ensure the safety of victims.”
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “We are holding Serco to account to address delays in fitting some offenders with tags, and will apply financial penalties against the company if this is not resolved quickly.
“While this issue is ongoing, we have prioritised tagging domestic abuse offenders to make sure their licence conditions, such as staying away from their victims, are strictly followed.”
A Serco spokesperson said: “Since we took over the electronic monitoring contract in May we have been working hard to reduce the number of people waiting to have a tag fitted.
“We work closely with the MoJ and the probation service to fit tags swiftly and prioritise cases based on risk profiles. Where an individual is not at home when we call to fit a tag, the time taken can be longer.
“We prioritise making another visit so that people are tagged as soon as possible.”