North West Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse has unveiled plans to fit released burglars with GPS tags for round the clock monitoring.

Speaking to the Telegraph, the MP said that he wanted all known burglars to be tagged so that police forces could compare burglaries in their area with the tracking data from these individuals to see if they could have been involved.

These tags could be deployed as part of the probationary period for a convicted burglar, with the tag being used as a condition of their being out on license. Should they refuse to wear the tag, or remove it, this would see them sent back to prison.

Malthouse told the Telegraph that the technology would “tell all police forces whether a former burglar has been in their area and they can match it up with burglary data."

He said: “Fifty per cent of burglaries are done by former burglars. It should be a major deterrent to them going out and plying their previous trade.”

The aim of the tags is to reduce reoffending rates, with a 2013 study funded by the Ministry of Justice finding that almost a third of re-offenders are those who commit ‘acquisitive’ crimes, which include burglary.

Last year, across Andover and the surrounding area, there were 121 burglaries. A report from 2018 suggests that less than 5% of burglaries are solved, such that, on average, only just over six of these crimes will see someone brought to justice.

The scheme is to be initially trialled by six police forces across the UK, with the potential for the scheme to be rolled out to others if the trial is successful.

Malthouse, as Deputy Mayor of London for Policing, previously introduced sobriety tags for offenders in London whose crimes were influenced by alcohol consumption. After a successful national trial this year, they are set to be rolled out across the country in the near future.