Survivor fears ex-partner after tag not fitted
A domestic-violence survivor lives in terror because her ex-partner was released without a tracking tag, prompting relatives to sleep on her floor.
A domestic-violence survivor named Michelle, aged 38, says she is “living in terror” after her former partner was released from prison without being fitted with a tracking tag. She lives in a static caravan with her four children, and relatives have taken to sleeping on the floor of her home in case the man attempts another attack.
Michelle’s former partner had been recalled to prison on several occasions for breaching probation conditions. He was convicted of two counts of assault by beating and one count of affray, and sentenced to 38 months in prison.
She says police and probation officers were aware that he posed a threat and that he had previously broken the terms of his supervision. “It is as if they are waiting for something really bad to happen to me or my children before they help,” she said.
Delays in Fitting Tracking Tags
Hundreds of survivors of domestic abuse are pressing authorities for an explanation of why electronic tags are not being attached to offenders at the moment they leave prison. Instead, the private-sector firm Serco is contracted to fit the devices after release.
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According to a report from the chief inspectors for probation and prisons, nearly half of offenders are not tagged promptly on release, and in one in ten cases a device is fitted up to five months later.
Michelle believes the tags should be attached as soon as offenders walk out of the gates.
Michelle’s Story
In early 2024, Michelle was punched in the face by her former partner, a crack-cocaine user who is also the father of her three-year-old son. She called the police and he was arrested and later released on bail.
The following day he returned to her five-bedroom, privately rented home, forced his way in by kicking the door, and threatened her with a knife. Her 16-year-old son intervened, pulling the attacker away after he had held her down by her hair and brandished the weapon.
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On release in February 2025, he was ordered to stay away from Michelle’s home and the town where she lives.
Probation Breaches and Unfitted GPS Tag
He breached the terms of his probation in July 2025 and again in April and August, with photos he and his friends uploaded showing him at parties and pubs in towns from which he was barred. Michelle reported two of these breaches, resulting in the man being recalled to prison for 56 days on both occasions.
On 15 October, he was released, with Michelle’s police liaison officer reassuring her that a GPS tag would be fitted to keep track of his movements. No tag has been fitted, and Michelle says she lives in terror that he could assault her home, threaten her now 18-year-old son, or try to abduct her three-year-old child. Council advice forced her to abandon her five-bedroom rented house and move to a caravan. She said police know of his probation breaches and his violent behaviour.
Calls for Change
Parliamentary representative Vikki Slade, the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, raised Michelle’s case in parliament on Monday, demanding to know why survivors with children were not being given more protection.
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The watchdog’s report revealed that Serco, the tagging contractor, had been deemed to have met its performance targets by attempting to fit the devices, rather than actually fitting them and ensuring they worked.
In a letter to Norris this month, Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the POA, proposed that the government train prison officers to fit and activate electronic tags before prisoners are freed.
The Ministry of Justice said: “We inherited a justice system in crisis after a decade of underinvestment but are taking the tough decisions needed to fix it. This includes the biggest ever expansion of electronic monitoring and tagging more offenders before they leave the prison gates.”
A Serco spokesperson said the firm attempted to fit an electronic monitoring device to every person required to wear one. “Where it is not possible to fit a device, or where the person breaches the conditions of their release, the individual is reported to the relevant authorities, who are responsible for considering and taking any further action,” they said.
