More than 200 stalking offenders in London are to be fitted with GPS tags on their release from prison, under a new pilot scheme launched by Sadiq Khan to reduce re-offending.
The new scheme, which runs up to March 2026 and has been developed following “close consultation with victims and survivor groups across the capital”, will tag individuals who have served custodial sentences for stalking offences with a tracking device under strict licence conditions.
According to City Hall, the scheme will work in partnership with the Ministry of Justice’s GPS programme and will also include stalkers who receive community sentences - meaning that for the first time, all types of stalking behaviour will be eligible for GPS monitoring.
Mr Khan said: “Stalking is an horrendous crime that can have a long-lasting impact on victims, who we know are more likely to be young women. I'm pleased to launch my new GPS stalking pilot today which will play a key role in preventing reoffending and safeguarding victims.
“The £5.7 million GPS tagging programme has been working to ensure perpetrators of violence change their behaviour, not victims and survivors. The results we’ve seen so far show that GPS tagging is effectively dissuading individuals from reoffending, but also quickly detecting those offenders who breach their licence conditions and could pose a risk to their victims.
“I will continue to do everything within my power to ensure that ending violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency – both by our police and society as a whole, as we continue to build a safer London for everyone.”
News of the pilot project was welcomed by Claire Waxman, London’s independent victims’ commissioner, who said it will “allow probation services and the police to effectively monitor stalkers and provide an extra layer of security to victims”.
She added: “My London Stalking Review has highlighted the scale of work needed to tackle stalking and I will continue to work closely with police, probation services and the wider criminal justice system to ensure this remains a priority.
“It’s incredibly important that stalking victims get the support and protection they require and today’s announcement is a significant step in the right direction.”
City Hall reported that the latest data from the mayor’s knife crime tagging programme shows 67 per cent of tag wearers successfully completed their period of monitoring up to a maximum period of six months. A third (33 per cent) had been recalled to prison – with GPS tracking data “playing a significant role in the detection of non-compliance and new offences in recalled cases”.
The mayor’s team added that his GPS domestic abuse tagging pilot has also tagged 707 high-risk individuals released from prison since 2019, and analysis from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) found “improved risk management, improved protection for victims and more effective enforcement of licence conditions when these are broken”.
The announcement of the new pilot project comes during this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence – an annual international campaign starting on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and running until Human Rights Day on December 10.
James Timpson, the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, said: “Tagging has a crucial part to play in keeping the public safe and this extra investment will help the Probation Service keep an even more watchful eye on stalkers in the capital.
“Making our streets safer is central to this government’s Plan for Change, and these tags will help us enforce restrictions on stalkers’ movements so those who try to reoffend face further punishment and victims can feel safer going about their lives.”
Mr Khan’s office said he is also investing an initial £50,000 to help ensure the management of stalking cases on the new pilot and greater information sharing with partners, including the Met Police, London Probation, the NHS and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
