Ad-Hoc Alcohol Monitoring Statistics Publication, Dec 2022
Published 30 December 2022
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2022
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Main Points
The table below shows a summary of the number of individuals in England and Wales actively monitored with an alcohol monitoring device at the end of each quarter over the last year up to 30 September 2022, and the provisional number for 30 November 2022.
| Date | Actively monitored individuals (rounded to nearest 100) |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2021 | 800 |
| 31 March 2022 | 900 |
| 30 June 2022 | 1,000 |
| 30 September 2022 | 1,500 |
| 30 November 2022 (provisional) | 1,800 |
Around 1,800 individuals were actively monitored with an alcohol monitoring device at the end of November 2022. This is 1,000 more than the number who were being actively monitored at the end of December 2021. This increase reflects the national rollout of alcohol monitoring for prison leavers from June 2022.
Of the alcohol tags used to monitor alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirements (AAMR), the tags did not register a tamper or alcohol alert 97.1% of the days worn since their introduction in October 2020.
Background
Alcohol monitoring was introduced to courts in Wales in October 2020 and went live throughout England on 31 March 2021 to support the new community sentencing option, the Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR). An AAMR may only be used when sentencing for alcohol-related criminal behaviour and it imposes a total ban on drinking alcohol for up to 120 days. Compliance with the ban is monitored electronically using an alcohol tag which continuously monitors for the presence of alcohol in offenders’ sweat.
It may be imposed by the court as part of a Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order where:
- the offence, or associated offence, for which the requirement is being imposed, is alcohol-related;
- the subject is not alcohol dependent or has an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) recommended or in place; and
- the subject is an adult (18 years or over)
For offenders being released from custody whose offending and risk is alcohol related, an Alcohol Monitoring on Licence (AML) additional licence condition was introduced in Wales in November 2021 and rolled out to England in June 2022. There are two conditions available for AML:
- requires total abstinence from alcohol, or
- requires the offender to comply with requirements specified by their supervising officer to address their alcohol needs, this will include limiting alcohol use.
Alcohol monitoring cannot be used for those under 18.
Notes
Monitored subjects are unique subjects with a live EM order and with an alcohol monitoring tag (AAMR or AML) fitted.
The data in this release are compiled from Alcohol Monitoring Services (AMS) contractor data, which in turn is derived from a case management system. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent.
Compliance with AAMR alcohol monitoring is a cumulative measure, calculated as the total number of days in which the tags have not registered a tamper or alcohol alert divided by the total number of days the tags were fitted. This monitoring data is also used to inform supervision for those with an alcohol tag for licence conditions (AML). Consumption of alcohol may be allowed for some offenders on licence, therefore the compliance methodology used for AAMR reporting does not provide an accurate measure of compliance for this cohort.
The numbers included in this release are provisional. The next scheduled release in the electronic monitoring statistics series will be published 19 January 2023.
Contact
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
Tel: 020 3334 3536
Email: newsdesk@justice.gov.uk
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to Data and Analysis at the Ministry of Justice:
Julie Sullivan
HMPPS Electronic Monitoring Performance
Data and Analysis
Ministry of Justice
10th Floor
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ
Email: statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
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Produced by the Ministry of Justice
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