A new pilot project in London will see stalking offenders fitted with GPS tracking devices upon release from prison, aiming to protect victims and reduce reoffending. Announced by Mayor Sadiq
Khan, the initiative builds on the government’s recent measures to safeguard victims and is part of the Mayor’s £5.7 million investment in GPS tagging technology.
Launching during the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the scheme forms a key element of the Mayor’s record £233 million funding to combat violence against women and girls.
Expanded scope for GPS monitoring
The pilot will initially focus on individuals convicted of stalking offenses who are released on strict license conditions. By March 2026, more than 200 offenders across varying sentence types are expected to be tagged. For the first time, the scheme will also cover stalking offenders serving community sentences, enabling all types of stalking behaviors—whether involving strangers or acquaintances—to be subject to GPS monitoring.
This expansion is made possible through collaboration with the Ministry of Justice’s GPS programme, ensuring better management of stalking behaviors and enhanced safety for victims.
Developed in consultation with victims
The initiative has been designed in close consultation with victims and survivor groups across London. It aligns with the Mayor’s public health approach to addressing violence against women and girls, emphasizing prevention, protection, and behavioral change.
Complementing broader efforts
The Mayor has also allocated an initial £50,000 to enhance the management of stalking cases under the new pilot. This funding will support information sharing between partners, including the Metropolitan Police, London Probation, the NHS, and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
The programme builds on the successes of previous tagging initiatives. For example, the Mayor’s GPS Domestic Abuse Tagging Pilot has monitored 707 high-risk individuals since 2019, leading to improved victim protection, better risk management, and more effective enforcement of license conditions.
Proven impact of GPS technology
Data from the Mayor’s knife crime tagging programme highlights the effectiveness of GPS monitoring. Of those tagged, 67% successfully completed their monitoring period, while 33% were recalled to prison due to non-compliance or new offenses, with GPS data aiding in the detection of violations.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) has been instrumental in supporting the Ministry of Justice’s new national electronic tagging programme, ensuring lessons from London’s pilots inform broader implementation.
A step toward safer communities
Speaking on the initiative, Mayor Sadiq Khan emphasized the importance of prioritizing offender accountability over victim burden:
“This pilot is another step forward in our commitment to making London a safer city for everyone, especially women and girls. By leveraging technology, we can better monitor offenders, safeguard victims, and reduce the risk of reoffending.”
This new initiative underscores London’s leadership in addressing gender-based violence and its dedication to innovative approaches in victim protection.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Stalking is an horrendous crime that can have a long-lasting impact on victims, who we know are more likely to be young women. I'm pleased to launch my new GPS stalking pilot today which will play a key role in preventing reoffending and safeguarding victims.
“The £5.7 million GPS tagging programme has been working to ensure perpetrators of violence change their behaviour, not victims and survivors. The results we’ve seen so far show that GPS tagging is effectively dissuading individuals from reoffending, but also quickly detecting those offenders who breach their licence conditions and could pose a risk to their victims.
“I will continue to do everything within my power to ensure that ending violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency – both by our police and society as a whole as we continue to build a safer London for everyone.”
Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, James Timpson, said: “Tagging has a crucial part to play in keeping the public safe and this extra investment will help the Probation Service keep an even more watchful eye on stalkers in the capital.
“Making our streets safer is central to this government’s Plan for Change, and these tags will help us enforce restrictions on stalkers’ movements so those who try to reoffend face further punishment and victims can feel safer going about their lives.”
Met Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: “We are having real success in tackling stalking in London by taking a data-led approach and working closely with partners at the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre (STAC). There is still lots more to do but this additional tagging capability will act as a deterrent to stalkers and help us detect them when they breach their conditions so we can get them off the streets.”
Sara Murray OBE, CEO of Buddi – the provider of location monitoring technology for the GPS stalking pilot, said: “This pilot represents the latest step in Buddi’s longstanding working relationship with MOPAC to support vulnerable people and reduce reoffending of people as part of their licence on release from prison. I am very proud that we can now help even more victims to feel safe in the knowledge that their stalkers are being properly monitored and managed. Recent high-profile cases, including the plot against presenter Holly Willoughby and the events depicted in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer have brought to light the very real threat of non-domestic stalking cases, and Buddi looks forward to helping more people who are forced to live with this terrifying reality.”
London’s Independent Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman OBE said: “Stalking has a harrowing impact on the lives of victims as well as their friends and loved ones.
“Having called for GPS tagging to be extended to stalking offenders, I very much welcome the launch of the Mayor's new GPS Stalking pilot. This will allow probation services and the police to effectively monitor stalkers and provide an extra layer of security to victims.
“My London Stalking Review has highlighted the scale of work needed to tackle stalking and I will continue to work closely with police, probation services and the wider criminal justice system to ensure this remains a priority. It’s incredibly important that stalking victims get the support and protection they require and today’s announcement is a significant step in the right direction.” Photo by Éric Chassaing, Wikimedia commons.