Burglars and muggers to be tracked with GPS technology

[Mrluvaluva]

Burglars and muggers will be tagged with GPS technology so they can be tracked round the clock, under plans to be revealed today.

Career criminals will have the tags fitted to their ankles so they can be pinpointed at any time if a crime has been committed.

It will also help police to find them immediately if they break their curfews or they are wanted for questioning.

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2012/10/22/article-1350938767762-15A163E0000005DC-387388_304x177.jpg
Criminals will have tags fitted to their ankles

The move, unveiled by Conservatives keen to show they are tough on crime, also comes with a pledge to ensure that all sentences carry some element of punishment.

But critics said it would just mean more criminals being handed short jail sentences, heaping more pressure on the prison service.

The proposals will be published today in the Crime and Courts Bill, which will also lift the £5,000 cap on compensation criminals can pay to victims. It will allow courts to base sentences on an offender’s possessions, such as luxury cars, rather than on income.

David Cameron said GPS tagging of criminals would make it ‘literally impossible to duck under the radar’. He added: ‘If you’re on a community sentence... you will be properly punished.’

But shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said: ‘This is nothing more than a smokescreen to try and cover up 29 wasted months of dithering on law and order.’

Metro (http://www.metro.co.uk/news/915768-burglars-and-muggers-to-be-tracked-with-gps-technology-under-new-plans?ref=fb_invite_declined)

What do you think of the move? Do you welcome it, or do you think it will put more pressure on the prison services?

[Vicky.]

If they were actually properly monitored I would think this was a great idea. But I think its all just smokescreens tbh.

Yeah, it will make them easier to find after they re-offend...but its not going to stop them re-offending in the first place(tbf though, nothing would do that besides bamging them up for life which isnt feasible). And if it does mean shorter prison sentences for them as this is seen as 'alternative punishment', then I'm against it.

[Mrluvaluva]

Thinking from a different point of view, do you not think it could be a help to the victims of muggings and burglaries, that were reported soon enough, to have some chance (however small) of recovering their property, if known criminals were pinpointed soon enough and caught in the act?

[Jack_]

yada yada yada crime is a choice yada yada yada hoodies and the underclass

Same old Tory rhetoric. How about they turn their attentions to laying the foundations of a society that is just and rid of inequality, create more jobs, rebuild poor communities, redistribute wealth and stop pushing these people into a life of crime because of the area they grow up in.

I also notice Cameron's not mentioned any plans to come down hard on tax evasion, corporate crime and train fare dodgers http://images.digitalspy.co.uk/forum/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Vicky.]

Thinking from a different point of view, do you not think it could be a help to the victims of muggings and burglaries, that were reported soon enough, to have some chance (however small) of recovering their property, if known criminals were pinpointed soon enough and caught in the act?

Yes, but i still do not support it if its going to be used as a reason to give these people shorter prison sentences.

That said, I can see why they need some way to keep burglars out of prison. Hell, with the new 3 year long sanctions and the benefit cuts left right and centre, we are going to have a massive uprise in crime levels, especially burglaries and muggings, and I suspect prisons dont have enough space to house all the new criminals that are going to HAVE to steal to survive.

[Nedusa]

I can't see this ever happening, as it would probably be classed as an illegal action akin to a form of enslavement and almost certainly in breach of a persons human rights.

Never gonna happen... Load of Tosh....!!!!