Killer left unmonitored for 2 months after launch from jail, investigation reveals | EUROtoday

A killer went untagged for 2 months after he was launched from jail, an undercover investigation has discovered.

Channel 4’s Dispatches despatched two undercover reporters to work at Serco the place they uncovered issues with its jail tagging service, which had already did not tag probably lots of of offenders following the federal government’s early launch scheme.

Some 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales had been launched early from their sentences in September final yr as a part of the federal government’s plan to deal with overcrowding.

But one undercover reporter found Serco, a authorities outsourcer which took over the Ministry of Justice’s tagging contract in 2023, had left a convicted killer untagged for 2 months – amongst different points.

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John Potter killed a person in a drink-fuelled assault and had a string of different convictions on his document when he was sentenced.

But following his launch from jail, Potter informed Serco that his legs had been too swollen to have an alcohol monitoring tag fitted.

Dispatches discovered that even two months after he was launched, Potter had failed to supply paperwork to again up his declare.

In the programme, Serco despatched Channel 4 reporter Lucy Richards and a colleague to see Potter to evaluate if he was “suitable to have a tag”.

When they referred to as at his residence, Potter was not there. But even when he was at residence, the colleague admits on digital camera, Serco can’t pressure Potter to have a tag.

The Ministry of Justice stated the delay by Serco in trying to tag Potter was “unacceptable”. It stated he’s now beneath elevated supervision and has been moved to some lodging the place he’s now carefully monitored.

Ms Richards was additionally despatched to the house of a convicted paedophile to verify his tagging gear.

The notes on Serco’s laptop system stated: “If there’s any contact with children, social services will need to be informed immediately – sexual offender.”

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The paedophile had a curfew and will have been at residence, however when Ms Richards arrived, there was no signal of him. Ms Richards later came upon that Serco made a mistake and despatched them to the unsuitable home.

Liberal Democrat MP and member of the House of Commons justice choose committee, Josh Babarinde, referred to as the revelations “a total disgrace”.

He added: “This is a systemic problem. The public need to have confidence in our criminal justice system for it to work. And how on earth can we expect people to have that confidence when rookie errors like this are being made left, right and centre?”

Serco’s chief government Anthony Kirby informed Dispatches: “We inherited a big backlog of untagged prisoners, document numbers of individuals being monitored in the neighborhood and the introduction of two prisoner early launch schemes… with restricted discover.

“We are tagging a record number of people and by the end of last year our performance had improved, and it was publicly recognised to be at an acceptable level.

“Serco has always been open and transparent with the Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet Office regarding our performance. We will not compromise on those standards and our values.”

The Ministry of Justice stated the whereabouts of the paedophile had been monitored since he was first tagged and that he didn’t breach his curfew or exclusion zone.

In a press release, the federal government division stated: “Tagging is an important and effective way to monitor and punish offenders. There are currently record numbers of offenders wearing tags as part of our commitment to cut crime and make streets safer. However, it is clear that Serco’s performance has been unacceptable.

“Ministers have met with its senior leaders to demand immediate action to improve standards. We will hold Serco to account, with further financial penalties imposed should our expectations not be met.”

‘Undercover: The Great Tagging Scandal’ for Dispatches is out there to look at and stream on Channel 4 at 9pm on Monday.