NEW RESTRICTION ZONES FOR SERIOUS SEXUAL AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS

The Government have announced that, from October, serious sexual and violent offenders will be able to be confined to areas just a few miles wide after leaving prison on licence.

These restriction zones, backed by GPS technology, will give victims peace of mind and the freedom to go about their daily lives – as victims themselves will have a say in how individual zones are drawn. The zones will last as long as necessary to manage the risk offenders pose, with reviews at least every three months.

Currently, dangerous offenders face ‘exclusion zones’ that ban them from specific places like their victim’s home – but this has for too long placed the burden on victims to confine themselves rather than the other way round.

The Government is right to reorient this to place the burden on offenders.