Met Police won't enforce breaches of some tag conditions as it struggles to cope with early release scheme

Britain's largest police force will not enforce some breaches of criminals' tagging conditions as it struggles to cope with Labour's early release scheme. The Metropolitan Police is running a pilot scheme under which officers would ignore when some offenders breach their probationary conditions unless the criminal is deemed to pose a risk to the public. More than 4,500 inmates, including violent criminals, will be eligible for early release over the next ten months under Labour's soft-justice programme.As well as thieves and fraudsters, they include domestic abusers and criminals convicted of certain violent or sexual offences – raising fears for the safety of victims.Serious criminals can now be released in half of their sentence, as opposed to two-thirds under previous rules in a government bid to deal with prison overcrowding. Now, the Met is expected to reduce the level of enforcement for tag breaches by more than 15 per cent. This means that if an offender breaches their conditions, by getting home after their curfew for example, police may not do anything about it. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley previously said that he was 'deeply worried' about the early release of thousands of convicts onto Britain's streets. Inmates pour out of HMP Durham in the north-east of England on October 1 under Labour's early release scheme More scenes of jubilation outside Leeds Prison as early releases got underway He said that Met officers were now policing over 100 tag breaches a day as more criminals stream out of prison early.The force's pilot scheme has made clear that breach notifications should still be reviewed, but that action would only be taken if there was a risk to the public. The move was done in an effort to reduce pressure on the Met's resources, according to Sky News. But while some breaches can be explained by an offender going out for a cigarette or going to hospital, some offenders brazenly ignore their bail conditions. In other cases, lags in the tagging system mean that authorities aren't notified for a number of hours after a breach has occurred – in which time a crime could be committed. The Government said this pilot applies to offenders, or alleged offenders awaiting trial, that have been bailed by the courts. The news came as it was revealed that tents are being handed out to early release prisoners after the Probation Service ran out of housing. Around 100 tents were reportedly given to prisoners who were released but had nowhere to live as the number of released offenders surged under Andy Burnham's early release scheme. The Metropolitan Police is running a pilot scheme under which officers would ignore when some offenders breach their probationary conditions unless the criminal is deemed to pose a risk to the publicIt was also reported that probation officers had asked charities for tents so they could give them out to released prisoners. Berkshire-based charity The Inside Out Trust worked with probation services to provide tents, cooking facilities and sleeping bags, it was claimed. Prisoners who are at risk of homelessness can be offered up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation. But probation officers have been under increased pressure to find places after more prisoners were released after Mr Burnham restarted Labour's early release programme. A probation officer reportedly said that they would usually have a year to find an offender a place to live but that this had been cut down to a few weeks as a result of the scheme. Almost one in six prisoners are left homeless as they are released and the number of released offenders entering rough sleeping has more than doubled since 2022-23. Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, told The Telegraph: 'Labour's shambolic early release scheme is putting thousands of criminals back on to the streets, and their chaotic lack of planning means many released prisoners are now sleeping in tents.'Angela Rayner promised to get all rough sleepers off the streets by Christmas, but early release will make the problem even worse.'He added: 'We know rough sleeping makes reoffending more likely, so this once again shows that Labour's early release crisis is putting public safety at risk.'A Met spokesman said: 'We understand the pressures across the criminal justice system. To best protect the public, those pressures cannot always fall on policing and certainly not without prioritisation. Offenders who are high-risk, such as domestic abusers are a priority.'The Met continues to respond to more than 100 tagging breaches a day, many of which are low-level breaches. In the type of cases where breaches have previously not resulted in any consequence through the court system, we are working with partners to explore the most appropriate penalty or consequence, so that police time can be focused where it has the greatest impact.'That means freeing up officers to focus on work that better protects the public, including pursuing offenders responsible for high-risk breaches. Where offenders have briefly stepped outside for a cigarette, or police are notified 19 hours later that they were 15 minutes late returning home, tying up several officers for hours is not the best use of resources. Where there is a risk to the public, particularly if someone is breaching conditions designed to protect a victim, we will absolutely respond.'A Government spokesman said: 'We inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. If we had failed to act, the police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting communities at untold risk.'We will never jeopardise public safety. That is why we are putting thousands more Neighbourhood Police officers onto our streets, upping police funding to £18.5 billion and taking investment in the probation service to record levels.'It is not Government policy to provide tents to people being released from prison who are at risk of being homeless. Tents are not, and should never be, an acceptable housing solution. We're helping those leaving prison to secure accommodation and move into work, as we work to halve prison leaver homelessness by the end of this Parliament, reduce reoffending, and keep the public safe.' Labour's early release scheme started in September 2024 with the aim of easing overcrowding in jailsLast month it was revealed that fitting tags on offenders was taking up to five months, according to a report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP). Only 55 per cent of the ankle tags that track location were fitted on time, with some criminals going unmonitored for five months. Andy Burnham said in the Commons in September that he understood the 'anguish' bereaved families faced as a result of changes to the early prisoner release programme, but he stopped short of apologising to them.A total of 27,847 people were given tagging orders with equipment in England and Wales as of June 2026. Experts warned earlier this month that ankle tags were 'too slow' to protect domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking victims from their attackers.Currently, if a criminal wearing an ankle tag breaches their exclusion zones, probation officers are just sent an email – meaning nothing will be done until the following day if the alert is sent out of working hours.As thousands of convicts are due to be set loose early from October under Labour's early release scheme, watchdogs have said these alerts could come 'too late' for those living in fear of their abusers.In the last six months, suspects breaching their tag conditions have already rocketed by nearly 50 per cent in London alone, from 2,977 in January to 4,408 in July.Martin Jones, chief inspector of probation for England and Wales, warned that 'expanding tagging programmes without addressing their weaknesses risks overpromising and underdelivering on public protection'. Mr Jones added: 'At present, the electronic monitoring is too clunky and reactive. We need a shift to smoother, proactive management.'I know the Metropolitan Police have voiced very similar concerns around the need for faster real-time information.'If it is to command public confidence, we need electronic monitoring systems that can be used to provide faster responses where they are needed.'