'Sobriety tags' on London's worst lager louts will alert probation officers if they drink too much

London's worst lager louts will be tagged
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Electronic ankle tags that monitor the booze intake of London’s worst lager louts are to be rolled out across the capital.

The pioneering “sobriety tags”, which analyse the sweat of offenders and can send them to jail if they drink, could now be used in thousands of cases.

A year-long trial in south London for offences such as drink driving, assault, and drunk and disorderly conduct has kept 91 per cent — 100 of 111 — of offenders sober for up to four months. Over the same period, other community-based orders worked for just 61 per cent of offenders.

Mayor Boris Johnson has now announced that the round-the-clock scheme will be rolled out city-wide.

The gadgets contain sensors in electronic anklets that search for alcohol in perspiration every 30 minutes, and if found send an alarm via the internet to probation officers. Anyone found in breach of their sobriety order, whether through drinking or tampering with their tag, is given a formal warning. A second breach leads to a fine or tougher order, or jail.

They are aimed at changing the behaviour of the minority blamed for alcohol-related crime, easing pressure on the justice system and making town centres safer, particularly at night. They could also save some people from the health risks of binge-drinking and drunken hooliganism.

Alcohol-related crime is estimated to cost the UK between £8 billion and £13 billion every year, and according to Public Health England is significantly higher in London than elsewhere. Four in 10 of all accident and emergency visits are linked to drinking, and the London Ambulance Service receives around 200 alcohol-related call-outs every day.

Mr Johnson said: “Alcohol-fuelled crimes put a massive strain on frontline services and cost businesses and taxpayers billions of pounds.

“From drink-driving, to assault, to theft and criminal damage, our sobriety tags have proved a fantastic success in helping offenders across south London to stay off the booze and avoid the circumstances under which they might reoffend.

“It’s now time to bring this exciting new crime-fighting technology to the rest of the capital, and help remove the scourge of alcohol-fuelled criminal behaviour from all of London’s streets.”

The scheme also has government backing for a national roll-out. Justice minister Andrew Selous said: “The results have been very encouraging and tie into the wider work we are doing to prevent people becoming victims of those who fail to control their drinking.”

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