Inserting microchips under prisoners’ skin to track their whereabouts has been floated as an idea within the Government.
“Subcutaneous tracking” was put forward by tech firms to Lord James Timpson, the prison minister, as a way of monitoring the movement and health of prisoners in real time.
The proposal was part of a wider discussion on a “technology-enabled justice system” between the prisons minister and tech giants on what the future of incarceration could look like.
Other futuristic ideas floated in the discussion were driverless vehicles to transport prisoners, AI-generated risk assessments of individuals and robotic prisoner officers, who can “contain” offenders, Inside Time reports.
At the table were Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Palantir, IBM and Serco, who are a private prison operator in the UK, all attending an event put on by industry lobby group, Tech UK.
Lord Timpson, son of Sir John Timpson who founded the service retailer Timpson, told the tech firms: “Once-in-a-generation reform is the only way we can truly deal with the scale of the crisis, cut crime and speed up justice.”
He added he wanted tech to “play an integral role” in handling the issues of the day and ultimately, “making our streets safer”.
The Labour peer concluded it was “just the start of a new conversation” between his department and the tech titans.
Lord Timpson has served as Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending since 2024
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A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) source said the meeting was a brainstorming exercise, exploring “radical” ideas on how to better the criminal justice system, but was not official policy.
It was “too early” to comment on the development of any of the ideas put forward, the source added.
The minutes of the round-table, released due to freedom of information laws, revealed tech bosses were asked: “What could a digital, data and technology-enabled justice system look like in 2050?”
One proposal went one step ahead of tagging prisoners, by suggesting microchipping offenders to monitor and “support health and behavioural management”.
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Under Labour’s criminal justice reform proposals, there is a push for greater tagging of offenders as a prison-alternative.
Offenders will be released as quickly as a third of a way through their sentence.
GPS tags track the whereabouts of offenders and have enabled police to place criminals at the scene of crimes.
The equipment, generally strapped to a person’s ankle, also create exclusion zones, restricting offenders from entering a certain area and more recently, legislation was passed to create inclusion spaces - areas where criminals cannot leave.
Tagging expansion was a policy set by Shabana Mahmood, when she was Justice Secretary.
The tagging technology is already advancing, with the devices now being able to monitor alcohol consumption and the MoJ are also looking at similar ways to test for drug use.
The criminal justice system's current ways of working have come under fire recently due to its more archaic processes have led to the accidental release of prisoners.
After Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly freed from Chelmsford prison in October last year after he was jailed for sexually assaulting a child and woman, a review was commissioned to understand the failings.
Dame Lynne Owen's review said the accidental release was "simply one symptom of a broke system".
The Government said it will roll out more advanced technology, such as biometric checks, when releasing prisoners.
In the year to March, 179 offenders were freed by mistake.
Justice Secretary David Lammy said in April the review's findings made clear the "unacceptable" increase in accidental releases and as a consequence, the Government would "bring the prison system into the 21st century".