Inspection Report Published: An inspection of the Global Positioning System (GPS) electronic monitoring of Foreign National Offenders, March – April 2022

Publishing the report, David Neal said:

I welcome the publication of this report, which looks at the Home Office’s introduction of GPS electronic monitoring (‘tagging’) of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) following the introduction of the Home Secretary’s duty in August 2021.

The purpose of tagging is to reduce absconding and increase the number of FNOs removed. This inspection found that the service is still in the first 6 months of roll out and so cannot yet demonstrate it is achieving these aims.

The Home Office’s Electronic Monitoring Hub (the ‘Hub’) had a positive workplace culture and were a strong team, but their efforts were blunted by cumbersome and overlong recruitment processes, and an underestimation of the scale of legal challenge. Staffing shortfalls resulted in delays to the 3-monthly reviews of those who are on a tag and a lack of use of formal sanctions for breaches, which threatens to undermine the effectiveness of the whole programme.

The Hub needs to have a clear plan for what can be achieved as the Home Office expands its use of electronic monitoring, including the delayed introduction of non-fitted devices, which is a key part of its strategy. A comprehensive training package for both existing and new staff, alongside the implementation of quality assurance processes and more effective performance management of the supplier, are required to help drive continuous improvement.

Further work is also needed to develop robust and assured data. Currently, there are inconsistencies in data across the Hub’s areas of activity, and no data quality framework is in place to ensure that information (including sensitive details of FNO movements) is being properly managed.

I made five recommendations in this report. I am pleased that the Home Office accepted all of these recommendations in full and that work is already underway to tackle the issues raised.