Electronic monitoring allows the police, courts, probation and immigration services to monitor offenders’ locations and compliance with court orders.
Regarded as a cost-effective alternative to custody, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) launched a programme in 2011 to transform the system by improving its efficiency and capability by introducing new technologies and adding more sentencing options.
But the NAO said that the “fundamental transformation” of the tagging services, which was sought through the £98m adoption of the Gemini case management system, was managed poorly.
Gemini was ultimately dumped by the government last year in order to prevent the taxpayer from incurring further losses through its use.
“Its lack of focus on monitoring benefits and continued poor evidence base means that – more than 10 years into the programme – Parliament still does not have a clear view on what it has achieved or whether electronic monitoring is an effective...