The proposal is Boris Johnson’s latest attempt to tackle Britain’s rise in alcohol-related crime, following the suggestion of ‘drunk tanks’, which will see repeat offenders fitted with a tag that can detect when its wearer drinks alcohol.
Repeat offenders will be fitted with ‘sobriety tags’ to enforce drinking bans.
The tags could enforce abstinence from alcohol for up to four months, and works by monitoring alcohol levels in sweat emissions every half hour.
It is first to be trialed in four London boroughs – Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton – on approximately 100-150 offenders. If offenders break their drinking ban they will be forced to stand in front of a judge once more, and could even face prison sentences.
Boris Johnson said: “Alcohol-fuelled criminal behaviour is a real scourge on our high streets, deterring law-abiding citizens from enjoying our great city, especially at night, placing massive strain on frontline services, while costing businesses and the taxpayer billions of pounds.”
The tags are already used in force in the US, where it is claimed there is a 95% success rate and a definite drop in crime.
With alcohol-related crime rising to an estimated cost of £8-13 billion a year, perhaps the scheme will work here as well.
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