Violent offenders tracked by GPS in 24 London boroughs

Some offenders are being tracked by satellite around-the-clock in the battle against violent crime
Katie Collins/PA
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A killer is among knife offenders being tracked by satellite around-the-clock in the battle against violent crime.

Details of a pilot scheme using GPS tagging to monitor prolific violent gang members emerged today as it was extended to 24 London boroughs.

Police and probation run Mappa (multi-agency public protection arrangements) to manage 10,000 criminals and sex offenders currently living in the capital.

Gang members aged over 18 released following knife-offence sentences can have tagging added to their licences.

According to Mappa’s 2019 annual report, this means automatic 24-hour cross-checking of their movements against locations where serious crime has taken place.

Detectives also have the power to exclude offenders from places where they are likely to be drawn into trouble and probation managers are provided with daily “heat maps” of top addresses visited by the ex-inmate, using them to challenge “lifestyle” choices.

Sixteen known cases include 11 habitual knife carriers, two robbers and one person convicted of manslaughter, another of affray and another of criminal damage, according to City Hall.

Up to 300 former prisoners can be monitored but the the Mayor’s office for policing and crime will not disclose how many are being tracked, or if the pilot has cut re-offending, until the end of the pilot next April.

Mappa delivery officer Tom Dodsworth said in the report: “Case examples so far include those invo-lved in serious group offending being excluded from high-risk areas… location information being viewed daily to monitor the lifestyle of very high-risk cases and data being used in supervision to challenge decision making and strengthen deterrence.

“As the pilot continues to expand… all agencies are starting to fully explore the potential benefits that GPS can bring to the management of Mappa cases in London.”

There have been 120 killings in London this year, the majority of which were knife attacks.

In February, Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the tagging pilot was being deployed in Lewisham, Croydon, Southwark and Lambeth. Three months later, funding for the pilot was increased by £700,000. It is now active in 22 boroughs, including Westminster, Camden, Islington and Wandsworth, with two more areas expected to join by the end of November.

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