Summary
Nacro’s response to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s investigation into electronic monitoring is based on our experience of supporting thousands of people across the criminal justice system (CJS) every year and our commitment to ensuring their voices and experiences are heard.
Our response is informed by the results of a survey of people we support who have experience of being electronically monitored, together with discussions with members of Nacro’s Justice ExChange [could we include a link to the J Ex page on the website] and a range of forums with the people we support from across our services.
Our response highlights the following:
- Electronic monitoring plays an important role in our justice system, but it is vital that we do not allow electronic monitoring to replace the one-to-one human support that can make all the difference to someone’s life chances.
- Investment in new and existing technologies and the Probation Service must go hand in hand with increased investment for the voluntary sector organisations that provide the person-centred support that is vital to support people to turn their lives around. If the Probation Service are to have the capacity and capability to manage those subject to electronic monitoring then it is vital that the voluntary sector is adequately funded to play an increased role, which would both ease the pressure on probation and enhance service delivery.
- We must ensure that the right balance is struck between monitoring people to ensure they can safely serve their sentence in the community rather than in prison, whilst also ensuring that we are not setting people up to fail if the conditions that people are expected to adhere to are too onerous and work against rehabilitation.
- We must ensure that electronic monitoring does not act as a barrier to people maintaining or obtaining employment or maintaining contact with family or caring for their children and other family members.
- Monitoring devices must be suitable for all body compositions, fitted appropriately and consideration must be given to health needs to prevent harm. As the Government explores new and enhanced technologies for electronic monitoring, they should ensure that these are practically appropriate for all groups and that more discrete options are explored to minimise stigma and shame.