In a shocking twist that has surprised absolutely no one, the electronic tagging system meant to keep tabs on thousands of early-release prisoners is reportedly failing at its one job: alerting authorities when someone breaks the rules. Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation for England and Wales, has raised the alarm, noting that the current system relies on overworked police and probation officers manually checking individual cases before deciding if a breach warrants investigation. Because nothing says 'public safety' like hoping someone remembers to look.

Jones wants the system upgraded to automatically ping authorities when a former inmate wanders into an exclusion zone they're banned from. This comes just as the government announced plans to release up to 5,000 prisoners from 1 October to tackle the prison overcrowding crisis. With 86,500 people currently behind bars and only 2,400 spare places, it's a bit like trying to fit a size 10 foot into a size 2 shoe.

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, paused the scheme last month and on Tuesday decided to exclude rapists, serious child sexual offenders, and grooming gang members - reducing releases by 1,000. But killers and domestic abusers? Still eligible, because apparently we're not done with bad ideas yet. The prime minister has assured the public that offenders will face 'tighter community supervision,' including new GPS monitoring. Because GPS has never failed anyone, right?

Jones, in an interview with the Guardian, said his recent inspection of offender tagging found the system 'under strain' and in need of an upgrade to 'minimise the risk to the public.' He described the systems as 'pretty clunky' and overly reliant on people actively searching for information rather than having it pushed to them. 'Tagging has potential to improve public perception of victims' safety,' he said, 'but only if used properly and with enough staff. Otherwise, you risk giving false assurances.'

The number of people in England and Wales being electronically monitored has doubled to 28,700 in five years, and is projected to rise to 22,000 newly tagged each year from 2027. Jones warned this expansion requires a massive increase in monitoring staff - because more tags without more eyes is just a fancy way of losing track of more people.

An early review of Jones's inspection across six regions in England found that probation officers wrongly assumed they'd be notified of exclusion zone breaches, data wasn't being actively monitored, and the process was so complex that officers felt 'overwhelmed and disengaged' by the sheer volume of correspondence. In other words, the system is a bureaucratic nightmare that may as well be run on carrier pigeons.

Jones also called for more staff in approved premises - hostels that monitor 2,000 of the most serious offenders upon release. 'Our research shows that approved premises work,' he said. 'What a missed opportunity if those premises cannot remain open because of insufficient staff.'

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that domestic abusers and manslaughter convicts are still eligible for early release. Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham, has written to Burnham, arguing that victims would 'remain in a state of fear and limbo' unless domestic abusers are excluded. She said, 'I fully support the government's ambitious goal to reduce violence against women and girls. However, without reinstating the exemption, I fail to see how that is possible.'

Justice Secretary Alex Norris apologized to affected families, saying they were 'carrying the can from previous failures.' He acknowledged the proposals had 'created harm,' including for Lissie Harper, widow of PC Andrew Harper. Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, said her family was 'paying the price' upon learning her son's killers remain eligible for early release. Because apparently, some prices are just meant to be paid.