Electronic monitoring in England and Wales

The importance of an evidence-based approach to policy and practice has been a defining characteristic of the Labour administrations since 1997. This article uses the example of electronic monitoring of offenders in England and Wales to assess how far its introduction and development could be said to be evidence-based. While the idea of evidence-based policy or practice may appear appealing, the complex nature of the policy process and the question of what constitutes evidence, render it problematic. The research into electronic monitoring—all of it carried out or commissioned by government—carries consistent messages, but these do not seem to have been heeded by government. As far as the electronic monitoring of offenders is concerned, evidence-based remains at the level of a rhetorical claim.