Issued by: Ministry of Justice

Thousands of criminals could be kept under additional surveillance by new technology to enhance how the Probation Service monitors offenders and cuts crime.

• New monitoring software to use AI to heighten offender surveillance – preventing crimes before they happen

• Pilot to help cut crime in communities by cracking down on reoffending

• Part of £8 million tech drive to make our streets safer with our Plan for Change

The Government has announced that as part of a new pilot, offenders will have to answer to remote check-in surveillance on their own mobile devices. This is in addition to their tough licence conditions, like GPS tags and in person appointments with their probation officer, to make our streets safer.

The tough new measure will also require offenders to record short videos of themselves and use artificial intelligence to confirm their identity. They will also have to answer questions about their behaviour and recent activities.

Any attempts to thwart the AI ID matching or concerning answers will result in an instant red alert being sent to the Probation Service for immediate intervention, helping prevent crimes before they happen.

Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, said:

"This new pilot keeps the watchful eye of our probation officers on these offenders wherever they are, helping catapult our analogue justice system into a new digital age.

"It’s bold ideas like this that are helping us tackle the challenges we face. We are protecting the public, supporting our staff, and making our streets safer as part of our Plan for Change."

The pilot is being trialled in four Probation regions across England – the South West, North West, East of England and Kent Surrey and Sussex – before being considered for further rollout with additional tech add-ons, such as GPS location verification.

This technology is part of a new £8 million drive by the Lord Chancellor to enhance criminal surveillance and deliver safer streets for communities blighted by prolific reoffending.

It follows the launch of the department’s AI Action Plan(1) and recent meetings with top tech firms(2) to explore the use of cutting-edge tools to toughen up punishment. Ideas pitched to Ministers included AI powered home monitoring and the use of synthetic brain cells to replicate the behaviour of a human nose to detect illegal drug use.

This announcement follows the introduction of the Sentencing Bill which set out plans to reform sentencing and end the prison crisis.

In the Spending Review, the Government announced that the Probation Service will receive up to £700 million, an almost 45% increase in funding. This new funding will mean tens of thousands more offenders can be tagged and monitored in the community.

(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ai-to-stop-prison-violence-before-it-happens

(2) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/businesses-showcase-tough-justice-tech-to-government-ministers

Tags

More Like This

Government announces plans to tag thousands of extra offenders

AI to stop prison violence before it happens

Tech companies urged to join drive to cut crime

Tens of thousands more to be tagged under biggest ever expansion

Toughest restrictions ever imposed on offenders on licence

Tough US-style courts to crack down on repeat offenders

New measures to tackle prison drones, drugs and boost employment

Live Facial Recognition technology to catch high-harm offenders