Alcohol-fuelled criminals could be made to wear ‘sobriety tags’ under new law coming into force today

Criminals who commit alcohol-fuelled crime may be banned from drinking and made to wear ‘sobriety tags’ after new legislation comes into force today

The ankle tags to be rolled out across Wales and England will perform around-the-clock monitoring of an offender’s sweat to determine whether alcohol has been consumed.

Courts will have the power to order those convicted of drink-related crimes to wear an ankle monitor for up to 120 days.

If they drink – breaching their alcohol abstinence order – they can be returned to court for further sanctions.

The first tags are expected to be fitted once probation staff have been trained a monitoring contract agreed.

When up and running, around 2,300 tags will be fitted on to offenders every year

During a trial, wearers reported a positive impact on their lives, wellbeing and behaviour.

UK Crime, Policing and Justice Minister Kit Malthouse MP said:

“Alcohol-fuelled crime blights communities and puts an unnecessary strain on our frontline services.

Smart technologies like sobriety tags not only punish offenders but can help turn their lives around.

While prison will always be the right place for many criminals, tough community sentences like this can help cut reoffending and protect the public.”

The Ministry of Justice will start a national roll out of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement from Winter.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that the proportion of violent incidents where the victim believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol, for year ending March 2018, was 39%