An electronic "tag" which looks like a watch is attached to the wrist or ankle. This is a form of restricting liberty - rather live 'house arrest'. This can give people a new sense of structure and discipline in their life, whilst enforcing curfews.
There are two types of curfews available to use while people are serving their punishment in the community.
A curfew requires people to stay at an agreed address between one to seven days a week. This will be for between two to 12 hours a day.
Being tagged can make it harder for people to commit further crimes. It can help break patterns of offending by making people stay at the agreed address.
The tag is linked to a monitoring machine installed in the place where the offender is living. The machine is linked via a telephone line to a monitoring centre. Staff at the monitoring centre can immediately tell if the curfew is broken. They can return the offender to court or prison if people break their curfew.
Probation staff do not enforce curfews.
There are two types of curfew:
Home Detention Curfew (HDC)
Imposed by the Prison Governor as part of early release from prison.
Probation staff provide a written report to help the Prison Governor make the decision about release. They closely consider the effect the order will have on the other people living at the same address and on the local community.
A prisoner can be released on HDC for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 90 days earlier than they normally would be.
Community Court Curfew
Imposed by the courts on offenders over the age of 16, this is known as a Curfew Order and can be for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of six months.
Probation staff assess people's suitability for this order. They closely consider the effect the order will have on the other people living at the same address and on the local community
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