Women’s Aid warns of risks regarding new offender restriction zones

Women’s Aid has issued a warning regarding the implementation of new ‘restriction zones’ for offenders, cautioning that these measures could provide victims with a false sense of security.

The new powers allow the government to require offenders to remain within specified geographical areas as part of community sentences, suspended sentences, or license conditions following prison release. While the government intends for these zones to restrict offenders rather than victims through electronic monitoring, Women’s Aid argues they should not serve as an alternative to appropriate prison sentences.

Ellie Daniel, Head of Policy and Survivor Services at Women’s Aid, emphasized that the effectiveness of these zones depends on robust risk assessments involving victims and specialist services. She noted that current probation services are already stretched and that police responses to breaches may not be immediate, meaning monitoring might record a violation without preventing it. The charity warned that without adequate safeguards and systemic changes to the criminal justice system, the measures could lead to fatal consequences.