Politics · United Kingdom · 3 hrs ago
More than 5,000 offenders went unmonitored after tags were not fitted
A report found serious problems with probation supervision in England and Wales.
More than 5,000 people who should have been electronically monitored were not tagged between January and April, and nearly 1,600 tags failed to send a signal for over two weeks.
The report links these problems to staff shortages and says probation services are struggling to meet demand.
It warns that changes under the 2026 Sentencing Act could leave many people serving the final third of their sentence on licence without active supervision.
This could make court sentences harder to understand and weaken public trust, while limiting support to reduce reoffending.
The report recommends steadily increasing probation staff and setting out clearly how much of a sentence is served in prison and under supervision in the community.
It also calls for licence periods without supervision to be ended.
More than 5,000 people in England and Wales who should have been electronically monitored were not tagged between January and April, a report found.
Almost 1,600 tags failed to send a signal to the monitoring system for more than two weeks because of technical faults or because devices were not charged.
The Institute for Government said staff shortages had left probation supervision “rationed” and court sentences less meaningful.
The report warned that, once the 2026 Sentencing Act is fully implemented, most offenders will spend the final third of their sentence on licence without active supervision.
It called for more probation workers and a sentencing model that clearly sets out prison time and supervised time in the community.
- Who
- The Institute for Government reported the findings. More than 5,000 people who should have been monitored were not tagged.
- What
- A report found failures in electronic tagging and wider problems with probation supervision in England and Wales.
- When
- The tagging figures cover January to April. The report was published on 11 October 2026.
- Where
- England and Wales.
- Why
- Probation staff failed to install tags, while technical faults and uncharged devices also caused monitoring failures. The report linked wider probation problems to staff shortages.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
It’s hard to set out just how demoralised and unhappy a lot of probation staff are.
The system is not functioning to try to help people.
rationing probation supervision
essentially a fiction
More than 5,000 people who should have been monitored were not tagged.
No probation delivery unit inspected received a rating above “requires improvement”, and two-thirds were rated “inadequate”.
The first 700 of an expected 4,500 people were released early from prison under emergency measures.
The Guardian reported the Institute for Government’s findings.
- People not tagged
- More than 5,000 between January and April
- Share of electronic tagging orders affected
- 15%
- Tags without a signal
- Almost 1,600 for more than two weeks
- Probation unit ratings
- Two-thirds rated “inadequate” in inspections in 2024 or 2025
- Early releases
- First 700 of an expected 4,500 released at the start of October
Sources
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