Surrey spokesperson voices concern following prisoner tag announcement
A Surrey VAWG campaigner has voiced her concerns following the governments plans to fix overcrowding in prisons through early releases and tagging
A government report published last month claimed reoffending by burglars, robbers and thieves has been reduced by 20% through the use of GPS tracking tags.
The tags, which monitor offenders’ movements after prison release, allow police to compare their location data with unsolved crimes.
Ministers say the technology deters reoffending, protects communities and supports smarter policing as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
However Jodie Finch, says that this system puts the perpetrator before the victim.
Jodie Finch, who is based in Guildford, is the clinical lead at the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Service says that
"When the perpetrator comes out, it's all about their journey, their protection, making sure that they are kept safe because they've got rights
However, it should be the other way around. There isn't really even a like a panel that's protecting the survivors."
Jodie says that considering the time it takes for abusers to go to trial in the first place, an early release can seem like a kick in the teeth
"They often have had to spend years just waiting for the perpetrator to even get to court. The only time that they can tend to feel safe is when the perpetrator is in prison to then think that they might be having early release
It triggers emotions and it feels that they've got a lack of trust and that their voice isn't really being taken into account."
Jodie lost both her sister and her niece to domestic violence. She says that the perpetrator's release day is something that is always looming in her life
" From my own personal and my own family's personal opinion, you can get on with your life to a certain degree but that date will always be looming. It doesn't matter how many years.
I mean, he actually got 27 years, but he will be released and at some point there will be those feelings that you've got to to think about
I think for anyone that has been in a situation where you have felt so safe, to then have to think about them being released. It's just it's so traumatising".
Jodie acknowledged that overcrowding was a problem, however she says that with these decisions, the survivors concerns must be taken into account.
"I fully understand and acknowledge the issue that yet prisons and overcrowding, it's real, it's urgent. There is something that needs to be done.
But the problem is that when we look at it from the point of view of a survivor and their concerns
The main thing is their safety and protection. There can be emotional triggers and re-traumatisation."