Official Statistics

Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, England and Wales: September 2026

Published 22 October 2026

Applies to England and Wales

1. Main points

The Electronic Monitoring (EM) Statistics publication covers the use and delivery of EM in England and Wales, using four types of devices: curfew monitoring devices (also known as radio frequency or RF devices), location monitoring devices (also known as global positioning system or GPS devices), alcohol monitoring (AM) devices, and non-fitted devices (NFDs). A small number of individuals in the immigration cohort living in Scotland and Northern Ireland are also monitored.

This publication sets out statistics on the use of EM as at 30 September 2026 compared to those as at 30 June 2026.

• The total number of individuals assigned with EM equipment was 27,496, a decrease of 1% from 27,861 as at 30 June 2026.

To support the publication of monitoring status statistics (Annex) which provide statistics on individuals without EM equipment and those where equipment has not communicated for more than 14 days, a second data-cleansing exercise was undertaken for the EM court bail cohort in September 2026. This followed an initial data-cleansing exercise conducted across all EM cohorts in June 2026 and addressed additional EM court bail orders requiring closure. These included expired orders that remained active on the EM supplier database and expired orders where monitoring equipment had been assigned but had not communicated for more than 14 days.

The term ‘EM caseload’ used in this publication refers to counts of ‘individuals assigned with EM equipment’. Although the term ‘individuals assigned with EM equipment’ better reflects the counting methodology, ‘caseload’ has been used within this bulletin for brevity.

Figure 1: Number of individuals assigned with EM equipment, by order type, England and Wales, as at month-end, from June 2025 to September 2026 (Source: Table 1.1)

• Post-release orders were the largest group with 10,290 individuals (37% of the caseload). This compares to 10,844 individuals as at 30 June 2026, a 5% decrease.

• Court bail orders made up the second largest proportion with 9,060 individuals (33% of the caseload) assigned with EM equipment. This compares to 8,970 individuals as at 30 June 2026, a 1% increase.

• Immigration orders were the third largest group with 4,041 individuals (15% of the caseload). This compares to 4,033 individuals as at 30 June 2026, an increase of less than 0.5%.

• Court sentences (community orders and suspended sentence orders) were the fourth largest group with 4,003 individuals (15% of the caseload). This compares to 3,928 individuals as at 30 June 2026, a 2% increase.

• Specials orders were the smallest group with 102 individuals (less than 0.5% of the caseload).

Figure 2: Number of individuals assigned with EM equipment, by tag type (excluding Specials^{[footnote 1]}), England and Wales, as at month-end, from June 2025 to September 2026 (Source: Table 2.1, 3.1, 4.1)

• Location (GPS) devices account for 60% (16,585) of individuals assigned with a device. This compares to 16,051 individuals as at 30 June 2026, a 3% increase.

• Curfew (RF) devices account for 27% (7,321) of individuals assigned with a device. This compares to 8,242 individuals as at 30 June 2026, a 11% decrease.

• AM devices account for 19% (5,188) of individuals assigned with a device. This compares to 5,130 individuals as at 30 June 2026, a 1% increase.

Percentages may not sum to 100% as some individuals are assigned with more than one type of device.

2. Statistician’s comment

2.1 Caseload figures

The total number of individuals assigned with EM equipment decreased by 1% between June 2026 and September 2026, caused by a decrease in individuals with post-release as their primary order type. Individuals assigned with an RF device saw a reduction during this period (11%), driven mainly by a fall in the number of individuals with post-release as their primary order type (20% decrease). The removal of Home Detention Curfew (HDC) on 2 September 2026 as a routine option for early release is believed to be one of the primary drivers for this decrease. Individuals assigned with a GPS device, however, saw an increase in this period (3%), driven by an increase in post-release orders (up 5%).

Although total volumes have decreased from June 2026 to September 2026, there has been little change in the proportions of each cohort within the caseload during the time period. Post-release volumes remain the highest, accounting for 37% of the total EM caseload in September 2026.

2.2 New order starts and order completions

From June 2026 to September 2026, there was a 14% decrease in the total number of new orders, which was mainly driven by a 24% decrease in new post-release order starts. As with the decrease in post-release caseload, the removal of HDC on 2 September 2026 as a routine option for early release is believed to be one of the primary drivers for this decrease.

During the same time period, there was a 12% decrease in order completions. This was mainly driven by a decrease in completions in the post-release cohort (15% decrease), although completion volumes did decrease across all cohorts. The 11% decrease in court bail order completions over this time period is reflective of the more substantial data-cleanse activity conducted in June 2026 (resulting in higher-than-average completions for June 2026).

2.3 Regional figures

The annual publication was not released this year due to the lack of data covering the entire 12-month period to March 2026. To provide an update on regional figures in lieu of this annual publication, an ad-hoc table has been included within this statistical release, which gives the number of individuals with EM equipment by region as at 31 March 2026. The annual publication will be resumed as normal in July 2027.

As of 31 March 2026, London had the highest number of individuals assigned with EM equipment overall (4,251 individuals). London also had the highest volume of individuals and rate of individuals with EM (per 100,000 of the population) within the court bail cohort. However, both the North West and West Midlands had the highest overall rates of individuals with EM equipment (51 per 100,000 individuals) comparatively, as well as the highest rates within the post-release cohort (24 per 100,000 individuals).

2.4 Data quality and methodology

The statistics presented in this release are not comparable with data published before June 2025 due to changes in both the definition (from ‘tagged’ to ‘assigned with EM equipment’) and methodology used to classify individuals. These changes also apply to the AM cohort, which transitioned to the revised definition and methodology at the end of July 2025. Further details on these methodological changes are provided in the technical note.

EM statistics were paused during the 2024–25 transition from Capita to Serco to allow for process changes and data quality checks. The caseload migration finished in October 2025, and publications resumed in June 2025. There continue to be improvements in data quality within the case management systems and operational processes. For more information on this please refer to the publication technical note.

3. Background

EM supports probation services, prisons, courts, the police, the Home Office, and the wider justice system in England and Wales. It is a way of remotely monitoring and recording information on an individual’s whereabouts or alcohol consumption, using an electronic device that is typically fitted to an individual’s ankle. EM may be used:

• Court bail: as a tool to assist with the monitoring of established bail conditions for individuals on court bail;

• Court sentence: as a requirement of a court sentence, primarily for individuals on community orders and suspended sentence orders;

• Post-release: for Home Detention Curfew or as a licence condition following an individual’s release from prison or young offenders institutions;

• Immigration: as a condition of immigration bail, managed by the Home Office; or

• Special: to intensively monitor a small number of individuals assessed as high risk, including those managed under Level 3 Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and other serious or specialist cohorts (further defined in glossary in the technical note).

An individual may be subject to multiple EM orders concurrently or receive multiple orders over the course of a year. As a result, the number of active orders at any given point is likely to be higher than the number of individuals being monitored, and some individuals may be monitored under more than one order (dual-tagged). In this publication, where an individual has multiple orders:

• when counting order notifications, each notification will be counted separately;
• when counting individuals, the individual will be included in one order cohort once according to a defined formula.

Changes to the justice system introduced under the Sentencing Act 2026, which have started to come into effect from March 2026, may have affected the number of individuals fitted with EM equipment. Further measures include the progression model for prison releases, implemented from 1 October 2026, which introduced changes to release arrangements and a presumption to electronically tag eligible offenders. However, given data reported in this release only covers the period to 30 September 2026, progression releases will not impact figures presented here. MoJ will continue to monitor any impacts over coming months. More information on the measures affecting the use of EM is provided in the technical note.

Please see the technical note for more details.

4. Location Monitoring (GPS)

Location monitoring (GPS) devices allow the monitoring of:

• compliance with exclusion zones;
• attendance at a required activity or appointment;
• an offender’s whereabouts, known as trail monitoring;
• multiple conditions or requirements, if necessary, such as a combination of exclusion zones, curfew, monitored attendance and trail monitoring.

Between 30 June 2026 and 30 September 2026, the number of individuals assigned with EM equipment and whose primary order was a location monitoring (GPS) device increased from 16,051 individuals to 16,585, an increase of 3%.

Figure 3: Number of individuals assigned with a location monitoring (GPS) device, by order type (excluding Specials^{[footnote 1]}), England and Wales, as at month-end, from June 2025 to September 2026 (Source: Table 2.1)

• Court bail orders make up the largest proportion (35%) of individuals with a location monitoring (GPS) device. At 30 September 2026, 5,834 individuals had location monitoring (GPS) court bail as their primary order type, an increase of 3% compared to 30 June 2026.

• Post-release orders were the second largest group, with 5,311 individuals (32% of the caseload), up by 5% when compared with 30 June 2026. Post-release orders are made up of acquisitive crime (AC) and non-AC orders (AC defined in the technical note). Non-AC orders made up the majority of individuals in the post-release cohort (87%), up by 8% when compared to 30 June 2026. AC orders made up of 13% of individuals in the post-release cohort, down by 9% when compared to 30 June 2026.

• Immigration orders were the third largest group with 4,084 individuals (25% of the caseload), up by less than 0.5% when compared with 30 June 2026.

• Court sentence orders (community orders and suspended sentence orders) were the smallest group with 1,356 individuals (8% of the caseload), up by 7% when compared with 30 June 2026.

5. Non-Fitted Devices (NFDs)

EM using a non-fitted device was introduced in November 2022 for the immigration cohort. These devices utilise periodic biometric verification as an alternative to fitted devices. Individuals with a non-fitted device have been included within the location monitoring (GPS) cohort for the purposes of this analysis.

6. Curfew Monitoring (RF)

Curfew (RF) devices allow the monitoring of a curfew, where an offender must be at a specified location at specified times.

Between 30 June 2026 and 30 September 2026 the total number of individuals assigned with EM equipment and whose primary order was a curfew (RF) EM device decreased from 8,242 individuals to 7,321, a decrease of 11%.

Figure 4: Number of individuals assigned with a curfew (RF) monitoring device, by order type (excluding Specials^{[footnote 1]}), England and Wales, as at month-end, from June 2025 to September 2026 (Source: Table 3.1)

• Court bail orders now make up the largest proportion (44%) of individuals with a curfew (RF) device. At 30 September 2026, 3,244 individuals had curfew court bail monitoring as their primary order type, a decrease of 2% when compared with 30 June 2026.

• Post-release were the second largest group with 3,117 individuals (43% of the caseload), down by 20% when compared with 30 June 2026.

• Court sentence orders (community orders and suspended sentence orders) were the third largest group with 960 individuals (13% of the caseload), down by 6% when compared with 30 June 2026.

• As at 30 September 2026, no individuals had immigration curfew monitoring (RF) orders as their primary order type.

7. EM new order starts and order completions

Between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026, there have been 19,099 new EM orders and 20,538 EM order completions across England and Wales. Overall, there have been 106,395 new orders and 106,893 order completions since 1 June 2025. The number of EM new order starts and order completions are not impacted by the change in the definition (from ‘tagged’ to ‘assigned with EM equipment’) and methodology used to classify individuals.

Figure 5: Number of new orders and order completions, England and Wales, as at month-end, from June 2025 to September 2026 (Source: Table 1.2, 1.3)

• In September 2026, there were 5,875 new orders, a decrease of 14% compared to 6,823 new orders in June 2026.

• In September 2026, there were 7,303 order completions, a decrease of 12% compared to 8,267 order completions in June 2026.

8. Alcohol Monitoring (AM)

Migration of AM orders from Capita to Serco began at the end of July 2025. As with RF and GPS monitoring, the definition and methodology for reporting AM caseload statistics have been updated to align with the revised definition used across all EM caseloads (as mentioned earlier).

There are two types of AM orders:

• Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) – this 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 monitoring device, which monitors for the consumption of alcohol via an offender’s sweat. An AAMR can only be imposed if the individual is not alcohol dependent or has an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR), and the individual is an adult (18 years or over).

• Alcohol Monitoring on Licence (AML) – this is an additional licence condition for offenders released from custody whose offending and risk is alcohol related. There are two licence conditions available, total abstinence from alcohol, or a requirement that the offender complies with requirements specified by their probation practitioner to address their alcohol needs, which will include restricting alcohol use.

The EM statistics provided within this publication are inclusive of AM figures. Therefore, the AM volumes referenced below (and in accompanying data tables) are a subset of the EM statistics.

Between 30 June 2026 and 30 September 2026 the total number of individuals assigned with EM equipment and whose primary order was an AM order increased from 5,130 individuals to 5,188, an increase of 1%.

Of the AM devices in use to monitor abstinence over September 2026, the devices did not register a tamper or alcohol alert for 98.2% of the days worn.

9. AM new order starts and order completions

Figure 6: Number of new alcohol monitoring orders, England and Wales, as at month-end, from October 2020 to September 2026 (Source: Table 4.2)

There were 5,423 new AM orders imposed across England and Wales between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026. Overall, 74,061 new AM orders have been imposed since their introduction. There were 5,767 AM order completions across England and Wales between 1 July 2026 and 30 September 2026. The number of AM new order starts and order completions are not impacted by the change in the definition (from ‘tagged’ to ‘assigned with EM equipment’) and methodology used to classify individuals.

10. Further information

10.1 Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• Data tables

• Technical note

• Annex: Management Information (MI) monitoring status bulletin

• Annex: MI monitoring status data tables

10.2 Official Statistics

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact the OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

This publication has been produced to the high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. However, the analysis is only as good as the data upon which it is based, and there is inherent uncertainty when the data is derived from diverse administrative data systems.

For further details on the methodology used to compile the report, please refer to the technical note.

10.3 Future publications

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or reductions in content.

10.4 Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office.

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to Youth Justice and Offender Policy Directorate at the Ministry of Justice:

Electronic Monitoring Performance and Statistics
Youth Justice and Offender Policy
Ministry of Justice
10th Floor
102 Petty France
London SW1H 9AJ

Email: ppas_statistics@justice.gov.uk

Next update: Jan 2027

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Alternative formats are available on request from ppas_statistics@justice.gov.uk

1. Please refer to Annex A within the technical note ↩ ↩² ↩³