Buddi

The tagging of offenders is a potentially challenging public service issue.  Despite evidence showing that it helps to prevent re-offending, it often raises civil liberty concerns.

Existing tagging technology enables curfews, placed on offenders by the courts, to be monitored and enforced as a punishment.  Exclusion from certain areas can remove the offenders from bad influences, but also isolate them from those that are good.

buddi has developed the first one-piece GPS enabled tracker tag that is small enough to be worn discretely on the ankle and thereby avoid the likelihood of social stigmatising.

Such a design has led to buddi being utilised on an experimental basis within an existing offender rehabilitation programme which is, in itself, an innovative way of dealing with prolific offenders within the Criminal Justice System.

The Choices & Consequences Programme, also known as C2, is a multi agency programme led by Hertfordshire Constabulary that has been in operation for three years.  Prolific offenders are helped to break free from the cycle of crime and custody within a structured community sentence that is almost 4 years in length.

With an average offending rate of 152 crimes per offender per year, considerable crime reduction can be achieved through successful rehabilitation.  At the same time, substantial savings through the avoidance of custody costs, plus those that are caused by future offending to society generally and within the Criminal Justice System, are being achieved.

C2 addresses users' needs by providing addiction treatment, mentoring, training, education, offending behaviour work and holistic support alongside community payback, which is more punishment oriented.

The buddi is able to produce tangible evidence of an offender's desistance from the acquisitive crime that they had previously been committing, a fact that the offenders want to demonstrate and a reason for them volunteering to take part in the tracking programme.

The offenders indicate that wearing the buddi will have a positive impact on their overall rehabilitation, increasing their motivation and supporting their self-control.  This clear indication of their desire to change is an additional indicator that warrants the extra time & resources that are invested in them.

The data on their movements can also be analysed to refine the C2 programme to increase its efficiency and effectiveness.