Background
Section 245A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
makes provision for the court to impose a
Restriction of Liberty Order (commonly known
as "electronic tagging"). This legislation also provides for
the use of electronic monitoring equipment to monitor
offenders' compliance with the terms of the Orders.
Following successful evaluation of the pilot schemes in
Hamilton, Peterhead and Aberdeen, Restriction of Liberty Orders
(RLOs) were rolled out as a community disposal to courts across
Scotland from 1 May 2002.
The contract to provide the electronic monitoring service
across Scotland was awarded to Reliance Monitoring Services Ltd
following a competitive tendering exercise
. Over 500 offenders in Scotland have been
given a Restriction of Liberty Order (tagged) from 1
st May 2002 to 31 March 2003.
How it Works
A Restriction of Liberty Order requires an offender to
be:
- restricted to a specific place for a maximum period of
12 hours per day for up to a maximum of 12 months;
- and/or from a specified place or places for 24 hours a
day for up to 12 months.
Offenders will be aged 16 or over and must consent to the
Order. The Court must find out relevant information about the
places involved and the attitudes of the people living there.
Outwith the hours of restriction an offender is free to go
where he/she chooses.
The offender wears an unobtrusive transmitter
(tagging device) on his or her ankle or wrist which emits a
signal that is picked up by a monitoring unit when the offender
is within range. The monitoring unit is linked by a telephone
line to a central computer system where the information about
the offender's presence or absence is permanently stored. If
the offender leaves the range the central computer system will
be alerted. It is not possible to remove the tag and leave home
unmonitored and any tampering with the electronic monitoring
unit will alert the central computer and be acted upon
immediately.
The Restriction of Liberty Order is being used broadly as a
high tariff community sentence imposed by Sheriffs as an option
in cases where they might otherwise be thinking of a prison
sentence or another community penalty that would impose
substantial demands on the offender.
Objectives
Electronic monitoring gives offenders the opportunity to
break their cycle of offending behaviour and to stabilise their
daily routines. It allows them to remain with their families,
rebuild relationships and take responsibility for their
actions. It can be used to restrict their movements at times
when they might otherwise become involved in offending
behaviour. It is not a soft option and research has shown that
for many offenders it is an effective sanction. RLOs are both
punitive and rehabilitative and they provide a useful addition
to the range of sentencing options already available to the
courts.
Future Plans
The Executive is committed to extending the use of RLOs as a
community disposal and provisions to do so have been included
in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. The Act makes
provision for:
- RLOs as a direct alternative to custody
- Transfer of RLOs between courts in Scotland
- Electronic monitoring as a condition of a
Probation
Order or a
Drug
Treatment and Testing Order.
- Electronic monitoring as a condition of licence for
those under supervision
.
Electronic monitoring of offenders will play an important
part in the criminal justice system working alongside other
measures to help tackle crime and to make our communities a
safer place to live.