Birmingham Conservative Deputy Leader says electronic monitoring safeguards must be working from the moment offenders are released
Birmingham Conservative Deputy Leader Cllr Alex Yip has called for urgent assurances over the Government’s prisoner release plans after serious problems were identified with the electronic tagging system intended to help monitor offenders in the community.
With the first releases under the new arrangements due to begin on 1 October, Cllr Yip says Birmingham needs to know that offenders who require electronic monitoring will be properly tagged from the moment they leave prison.
He is also calling for answers on how many offenders will come to Birmingham, what safeguards will be provided for victims and what additional resources will be available to police, probation and local services.
A joint inspection found that only 55% of location-monitoring tags examined were fitted promptly. Inspectors also identified cases where offenders had waited months to be tagged.
Cllr Alex Yip, Deputy Leader of the Birmingham Conservative Group, said:
“A safeguard that is delayed for weeks or months is no safeguard at all. The Government is relying on electronic monitoring and probation supervision to help manage offenders released earlier into the community. We therefore need confidence that those safeguards actually work from day one.
“If an offender is required to wear a tag, it should be fitted and fully operational when they leave prison. Breaches must be identified quickly and acted upon, and victims need to know that the safeguards they have been promised are actually in place.
“That is particularly important now because the first releases under the new arrangements begin on 1 October. Birmingham needs answers before that happens. How many offenders will come to our city? How many will be placed here from elsewhere? What risks will local services be expected to manage, and what additional police, probation and safeguarding resources will be provided?”
Birmingham City Council has already approved a motion brought by Councillor Yip and Conservative colleagues calling on the Government for stronger safeguards and additional resources to manage the impact of the new release arrangements.
The motion called for victims to receive proper notice and protection before offenders are released and for sufficient funding for West Midlands Police, probation, safeguarding, housing and victim-support services.
It also called for the Government to tell Birmingham how many offenders are expected to be released into the city, how many have an existing Birmingham connection and how many may be placed here from elsewhere.
Cllr Yip said:
“Whilst our position remains that this early release should not be happening at all, we were clear that if it did then all possible safeguards were put in place. Full Council has backed these calls, we now need the Council to follow that decision up urgently with the Government.
“We need confirmation about which domestic abuse offenders will be excluded, how many offenders Birmingham is expected to accommodate and what additional resources will be provided. Birmingham should not be expected to carry additional costs or pressures without the resources needed to manage them safely.
“Electronic monitoring can play an important role in protecting the public, but only if it works. Before these releases begin, the Government should demonstrate that the safeguards it is relying on will exist in practice, not just on paper.”
The Government estimates around 700 prisoners will be released on the first day of the new arrangements. The changes are being introduced in ten tranches between October 2026 and June 2027.
