Tags - A Family Perspective

Read how electronic monitoring has made a difference to the lives of both the individual being tagged, and also to their families

The tag made us a proper family again...

15 year old John Dawson did as he pleased since his father figure had walked out on his family. When John was given a tag as part of an ISSP order his days became more structured and he began to have a positive relationship with his mother, Marie.

Marie is a single mother to two daughters aged four and eighteen and John aged 15. Things had been difficult for the family since Marie’s second husband (father to her youngest daughter) had walked out three years ago. John had reacted badlyto not having a father figure around and got in with a ‘bad bunch’ at school.

A series of offences by John put a lot of strain on Marie, her daughters and their family life. Early in 2007 John was placed on a Community Order combined with a Supervision Order (ISSP) for affray, assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, handling stolen goods and criminal damage. His order ran from 16th March 2007 to 14th June 2007 which he successfully completed.

After finishing his curfew requirement he was remanded in HMP Feltham for actual bodily harm. He was placed on tag again in October 2007 as part of an ISSP order which ran from 18th October 2007 to 18th January 2008.

“Before being on tag John would only come home around 2 o’clock in the morning. I wouldn’t see him all day; he’d be out all day and half the night. I wouldn’t see him or know what he was up to. Whereas when he was on tag he was coming in, sitting down, watching telly with us and babysitting for his younger sister.Being on the tag gave John some structure to his life and helped him to get into a routine. It encouraged him to get involved in normal activities and be part of his family.The tag helped him to get up for school on time. When he was coming in late I was trying to get him up for school and he wouldn’t get up. He couldn’t go into school because he was too tired. He’d always be in a bad mood because he was so tired; he would always cause an atmosphere in the house.”

John didn’t like the fact he had to be home for 8pm whilst his friends were all still out but he openly admits that the tag has had a positive influence on his family life.“The worst part about being on tag is having to be home all the time. Mates would be texting and I’d have to keep telling them I was busy. I would just stay home, maybe play on the Playstation or watch TV with my little sister. I guess that made my mum happy, so she wasn’t on my case.”

Marie Dawson was quick to point out the positive contribution that G4S staff made to her family's tagging experience. The G4S staff were always very professional and she was pleased with how they interacted with John. In the past Marie had experienced the stigma of John getting in trouble with the law and had very negative experiences with the local police.

“The G4S staff who came to see John were always really professional, they were always very nice, chatty and really helpful. They always had a bit of banter with John... they didn’t look down their noses at him like the police always do. It wasn’t as if “tut, tut, tut, you’ve been a naughty boy”... they did have a bit of a laugh and a joke, they didn’t make him feel like it was the end of the world. ”

The overall effect the tagging had on Marie’s family was clearly constructive and very positive.

* None of the images used are actual subjects. The subject’s real name and some personal details have been changed.