Criminals in England who commit alcohol-fuelled offenses may be forced to wear ‘sobriety ankle tags’.

The order first came into force in Wales and was later extended to England on March 31, 2021.

The order first came into force in Wales and was later extended to England on March 31, 2021. In October 2020, the Ministry of Justice of the United Kingdom passed an order mandating the wearing of sobriety tags for people in Wales who commit alcohol-fuelled crimes.

According to a press brief released by the government, the order came into effect on October 21, 2021.

The sobriety tags have been designed to monitor an offender’s sweat every half-an-hour and send an alert to the probation service if alcohol has been consumed. People who don’t comply with the order are likely to face drinking bans for up to 120 days or be sent to court for further sentencing or fines.

The idea behind making the criminals wear sobriety tags was to create community sentences more robust and imposing harsher punishments to keep criminals from re-offending, the release said.

Months after imposing the law in Wales, the UK government decided to extend the legislation to England from March 31, 2021. The tags would be active 24/7 and will detect if someone tries to block contact with the skin.

According to a BBC report, they can only be used on over 18-year-old offenders who are not dependent on alcohol or have certain medical conditions.

According to probation officer Laura Harrison, who supervised the legislation in Wales, the use of tags helped people avoid alcohol and improve their mental health.

Around 39% of violent crimes in the UK are committed after the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol is one of the primary drivers of domestic violence, unprovoked attacks and amounts to social and economic costs up to £21.5 billion per year.