Offenders Will Face Tighter Community Supervision, Including New GPS Monitoring for Rapists

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has barred rapists and serious child sex offenders, including those convicted of grooming offences, from an early prison release scheme. He acknowledged the "anxiety and distress" caused by the plan and said he "wanted to go even further, but warned that doing so would risk the collapse of the prison system. Offenders will face tighter community supervision, including new GPS monitoring for rapists.

The scheme, initially paused in September, will now be delayed until October. Burnham announced the changes on Monday night, stating, "Keeping the public safe is my top priority. He added that offenders sentenced for rape, serious child sex offences, and grooming will be excluded.

He also plans "much tougher" community measures, including a presumption of tagging for all offenders, longer supervision periods, and new restriction zones. Under the Sentencing Act, some 6,000 offenders were set for early release in September after serving a third of their sentence, but the changes will now phase in starting with shorter sentences. The government has excluded 18,000 offenders already, including the most dangerous and those with life sentences.

A £10m victim support package will fund trauma-informed contact and a new national helpline. Burnham noted prisons are at 98 per cent capacity and promised the fastest prison building programme since the Victorian era, aiming for 14,000 new places by 2031. He has asked Justice Secretary Alex Norris to review IPP sentences and expedite removal of foreign offenders. Norris said the changes protect victims and ensure tougher supervision.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy called the U-turn a "victory for victims" but said it "doesn't go far enough. Domestic abuse commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs criticised the exclusion of domestic abusers as "wrong and puts victims lives at risk.