Tagged high risk criminals re-offend

More than half of offenders being monitored in an experimental satellite-tracking programme have been returned to jail or had their tagging orders revoked because of breaches.

And around a quarter of them committed fresh crimes while being tracked, including one who was jailed for life and two others who received indeterminate sentences for "very serious offences", research for the Ministry of Justice has found.

Some 336 people in Greater Manchester, Hampshire and the West Midlands took part in trials of the new technology between 2004 and 2006 - most of them prolific offenders, including many convicted of sexual and violent crimes.

The pilots were targeted at offenders deemed to be "high risk", with records of repeat convictions. A majority of those tracked had been released on licence after serving time in prison, though some had been given community penalties for less serious crimes.

Why are high risk offenders being let out of prison when the government knows there is a high possibility that they are going to re-offend? The safety of the law abiding public should be the priority when dealing with criminals.