Electronic monitoring caseload fell after a Ministry of Justice data cleansing exercise
The number of people assigned electronic monitoring equipment across England and Wales fell during the second quarter of 2026 after a Ministry of Justice data cleansing exercise removed expired monitoring records from official systems, according to the latest government statistics.
Official figures published by the Ministry of Justice on 23 July 2026 show that 27,847 individuals had electronic monitoring (EM) equipment assigned to them as of 30 June 2026, down from 28,687 at the end of March. The 3% reduction follows a review of electronic monitoring records rather than a policy change or reduction in the use of tagging.
The department said the decrease was driven by a data cleanse carried out in June 2026 to support the introduction of new monitoring status statistics. During the exercise, officials closed expired monitoring orders that remained active on the supplier database and removed expired cases where monitoring equipment had been assigned but had not communicated for more than 14 days. The closure of these inactive records accounted for the decline in the overall electronic monitoring caseload.
Electronic monitoring is used across England and Wales through four types of technology: radio frequency (RF) curfew devices, GPS location monitoring devices, alcohol monitoring devices and non-fitted devices used within the immigration cohort. The publication reports statistics covering the position as of 30 June 2026 and compares them with figures from 31 March 2026.
Post-release orders remained the largest category of electronic monitoring. At the end of June, 10,844 individuals, representing 39% of the total caseload, were subject to post-release monitoring, an increase of 2% since March. Court bail orders formed the second-largest group, with 8,970 individuals, accounting for 32% of all monitored cases.
GPS location monitoring continued to account for the largest share of electronic monitoring devices. The number of people assigned GPS equipment stood at 16,034, down 1% from March. Court bail represented the biggest proportion of GPS monitoring, while post-release orders recorded a 5% increase over the quarter. Immigration-related GPS monitoring fell by 8%, whereas court sentence orders increased by 6%.
Curfew monitoring using radio frequency devices recorded the largest percentage decline among monitoring types. The number of individuals assigned RF equipment fell from 8,781 to 8,241, a reduction of 6%. The Ministry of Justice attributed much of this fall to a 14% decrease in court bail cases using RF monitoring. Post-release curfew monitoring, however, increased by 1% during the same period.
The report also recorded operational activity across the monitoring system. Between 1 April and 30 June 2026, authorities started 19,512 new electronic monitoring orders and completed 22,322 orders. In June alone there were 6,822 new orders, 1% fewer than in March, while completed orders rose by 13% to 8,293.
Alcohol monitoring continued to expand slightly. The number of people assigned alcohol monitoring equipment increased from 5,080 to 5,130, representing a 1% rise over the quarter. The Ministry of Justice also reported that alcohol monitoring devices did not register either a tamper alert or an alcohol alert on 98.3% of the days they were worn during June 2026. Since the introduction of alcohol monitoring, 68,638 new orders have been imposed across England and Wales, including 5,381 new orders between April and June 2026.
The Ministry of Justice said the publication is intended to improve transparency around the use and delivery of electronic monitoring. Alongside the official statistics, it has also published a new management information annex providing additional insight into the monitoring status of individuals with electronic monitoring orders while further work continues on data quality and methodology.