Ministers announce huge expansion of electronic tagging in England and Wales

Most dangerous offenders on probation will now be watched more closely than ever before, says government

Tens of thousands of offenders will be released from prisons in England and Wales wearing tags that track their location in real time as part of the biggest expansion of electronic tagging in British history, ministers have announced.

The prisons minister, James Timpson, said a new pilot scheme would track domestic abusers and stalkers, alerting authorities if they approached their victims, while other offenders will wear geolocation tags that will enable probation officers to track their live location.