11 February 2023 , 19:51
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More than 4,000 phones handed by the government to criminals on probation were either "lost" or "stolen", new figures have revealed.
Thousands of basic mobile phones were handed out during the pandemic to help keep track of those being supervised by the probation service, including prisoners temporarily released on licence to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
So-called “dumb phones” can cost between £25 and £50 each - which would put the cost of lost and stolen phones at more than £100,000.
At the time, then Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said: “Where prisoners do not have a mobile phone, we will ensure that they do have a mobile phone.”
But figures published by the Ministry of Justice in response to a parliamentary question reveal that 4,140 of the phones allocated during Covid to Probation Service Users since March 2020 were then lost or stolen.
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Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson who uncovered the figures, said it showed the government was “staggeringly incompetent” and accused Conservative ministers of “frittering away taxpayers’ cash.”
The phones were basic models, which can only make calls and send texts (Caramel Quin)In June 2020, Ms Frazer confirmed 8,095 “basic” phones had been bought, with an additional 4,226 expected to be purchased during the programme.
She said: “The phones are only capable of voice communication and text communication and do not have internet access.”
Ms Olney said: “It’s little wonder the Government is failing so badly to supervise offenders when it can't even keep track of the phones it gives them. It is staggeringly incompetent.
“Conservative ministers have yet again been frittering away taxpayers’ cash and asking hard-working families to pick up the tab.
"The Ministry of Justice should be preventing crime, not creating more of it."
A Probation Service spokesperson said: “These low-cost devices help probation officers to monitor offenders who would otherwise not be contactable – meaning we can better protect the public."