The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has this week announced knife crime offenders will be subject to GPS tagging upon release from prison in an innovative pilot scheme to reduce reoffending.

Starting next Monday (18 February), offenders who have served a custodial sentence for knife-related crimes – such as knife possession, robbery, wounding, GBH and aggravated burglary – will be tagged with a tracking device as part of strict new licence conditions. It is yet unclear how this will affect other schemes such as RJF Felons which helps offenders to find employment when they are released; hopefully they will still be able to make the most of this rather than having to adhere to strict geographical limitations.

The one-year pilot will operate in four London boroughs among those most affected by knife crime – Lewisham, Lambeth, Croydon and Southwark – and will use GPS tracking on up to 100 offenders to:

• Reduce the likelihood of reoffending;
• Help with rehabilitation of offenders.;
• Improve crime detection rates through data-sharing.

Under the scheme, offenders who are deemed more likely to reoffend will have their movements automatically checked against the location of reported crimes, with significant matches shared with local police.

Sadiq announced the pilot ahead of today’s Home Office Serious Violence Taskforce meeting, where he provided an update on London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and its progress on developing a homicide and serious violence case review that will provide an evidence base for the unit’s long-term public health approach.

The VRU will work to divert young people away from violence by making interventions at an early age, while the Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund is investing £45m in projects and programmes that are giving more than 60,000 young Londoners better life opportunities.