Domestic violence survivor living ‘in terror’ after attacker released without tag
A domestic violence survivor is 'living in terror' after her attacker was released from prison without a GPS tag, despite having breached probation conditions multiple times.
Michelle, 38, who now lives in a static caravan with her four children, said relatives were sleeping on her floor in case her former partner tried to attack again. The man had been recalled to prison on several occasions before for breaching his probation conditions, yet was released without a tracking tag weeks ago.
The domestic violence survivor was first punched in the face by her former partner, a crack cocaine user and father of her three-year-old boy, in early 2024. The following day, he returned to her then five-bedroom rented home, kicked in the door and threatened her with a knife.
My 16-year-old son had to intervene to drag him off me after he held me down by my hair and waved a knife around. My ex-partner was convinced I had another man in my bedroom.
Multiple breaches ignored
Michelle's former partner was convicted of two counts of assault by beating and one count of affray, and sentenced to 38 months in November 2024. On release in February 2025, he was ordered to stay away from Michelle's home and the town where she lives.
Michelle reported two of these breaches, resulting in the man being recalled to prison for 56 days on both occasions.
On 15 October, he was released again, with Michelle's police liaison officer reassuring her that a GPS tag would be fitted to keep track of his movements. But no tag has been fitted, leaving Michelle 'living in terror' that he could attack her home, her now 18-year-old son, or attempt to abduct the three-year-old.
Systemic failures exposed
A report released by the chief inspectors for probation and prisons revealed that nearly half of offenders are not tagged 'promptly' on release, and in one in 10 cases a device is fitted up to five months later. The prison officers' union, POA, has written to the justice secretary suggesting members should be trained to fit tags in prison.
The watchdog report disclosed that Serco, the tagging contractor, had been deemed to have met its performance targets by attempting to fit the devices, rather than actually fitting them and ensuring they worked. One main reason for tags not being fitted was that the offender was not at an agreed address when contractors arrived, accounting for a third of the 5,000 criminals in the community without tags.
The fact that we are still releasing people without a tag from prisons is utterly crazy.
Calls for urgent action
In a letter to the justice secretary, Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the POA, proposed that the government train prison officers to fit and activate electronic tags before prisoners are freed. 'Given the documented performance issues, the importance of public protection and the availability of an experienced public sector workforce, there is a compelling case for a formal assessment of insourcing,' he wrote.
The Ministry of Justice responded: 'We inherited a justice system in crisis after a decade of underinvestment but are taking the tough decisions needed to fix it. This includes the biggest ever expansion of electronic monitoring and tagging more offenders before they leave the prison gates.' A Serco spokesperson said the firm attempted to fit devices to every person required to wear one.
Michelle said she was forced to leave her five-bedroom rented house and move into a caravan following council advice. 'The police know that he has breached the terms of his probation before, they know that he is violent. It is really unfair that he can be released straight into the local area and his movements are not monitored,' she said.
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