Part 10: Management of offenders Chapter 3: Management of sex offenders Section 178: Electronic monitoring requirements
This section amends the Code and the 2003 Act to make express provision for a court to impose electronic monitoring conditions as a positive requirement, as part of an SHPO or SRO. Electronic monitoring requirements enable the person who is responsible for the monitoring, "the responsible person", to monitor and record, via an electronic tag, information on a subjects compliance with an order’s conditions, for instance curfews or exclusion zones.
	Subsection (2) amends section 343 of the Code to provide that an electronic monitoring requirement may be imposed to support the monitoring of an individual’s compliance with other requirements of an SHPO (for example, the operation of an exclusion zone).
	Subsection (4) inserts new section 348A and 348B into the Code. New section 348A sets out the conditions that must be satisfied to enable an electronic monitoring requirement to be attached to an SHPO.
	New section 348A(2) specifies that where another person’s cooperation is required in order to secure the electronic monitoring, the monitoring cannot be required without that person’s consent. This may include, for example, the occupier of the premises where the perpetrator lives or other persons living in the same premises as the offender.
	New section 348A(3) obliges the court to ensure that electronic monitoring arrangements are available in the relevant local area (as defined in subsection (4)) before imposing an electronic monitoring requirement. In practice, the court would be notified of the availability of such arrangements by the Ministry of Justice.
	New section 348A(5) provides that an SHPO which includes an electronic monitoring requirement must specify the person who is responsible for the monitoring ("the responsible person") and new section 348A(6) provides that the responsible person must be of a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State (such regulations are not subject to any parliamentary procedure).
	New section 348A(6) provides that the responsible person must be of a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State (such regulations are not subject to any parliamentary procedure).
	New section 348A(7) sets out the requirements for installation and maintenance of the electronic monitoring apparatus, including the requirements for the offender to submit to monitoring apparatus being fitted or installed, inspected or repaired. This subsection also prohibits the perpetrator from interfering with the monitoring apparatus and requires the perpetrator to take steps to keep the apparatus in working order, including keeping the equipment charged as directed. Failure to adhere to these requirements would constitute a breach of the SHPO.
	An electronic monitoring requirement may not apply for more than 12 months, but this may be extended for a further period of no more than 12 months each time (new section 384A(8) and (9)).
	New section 348B requires the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice relating to the processing of data gathered in the course of electronic monitoring of individuals under electronic monitoring requirements imposed by SHPOs. The processing of such data will be subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. The code of practice issued under new section 348B is intended to set out the appropriate tests and safeguards for the processing of such data, in order to assist with compliance of the data protection legislation. For example, information such as the length of time for retaining data and the circumstances in which it may be permissible to share data with the police to assist with crime detection.
	Subsection (10) inserts new sections 103FA and 103FB which make equivalent provisions for SHPOs made under the 2003 Act as for those made under the Code set out above.
	Subsections (11) to (16) amend sections 122A, 122D, 122E, 136ZA and 138(3) of the 2003 Act and insert new sections 122EA and 122EB, these changes have the effect of making equivalent provisions for electronic monitoring of SROs as for SHPOs.