§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that electronic tagging could help to reduce the numbers of those remanded in custody pending trial. [HL3587]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalElectronic monitoring on bail is currently available for defendants aged between 12 and 16 years. It is also available for 17 year-olds in the 10 street crime areas. We plan to roll it out for all 17 year-olds across the country in early 2004.
Electronic monitoring on bail for adults has been identified as a potential way of easing pressure on the prison population as well as reducing absconding on bail. We are considering whether to conduct a feasibility study on how effective this would be, together with the cost implications.