What is a curfew?
A curfew requires you to stay at an agreed address during the times you have been told. Usually this is between 7pm and 7am. It is commonly known as electronic 'tagging' and it is a way of restricting your liberty - rather like 'house arrest'.
Being tagged can make it harder for you to commit further crimes. It can help break your patterns of offending by making you stay at the agreed address.
Many people who are tagged say it gives them a new sense of structure and discipline.
There are two types of curfew:
- Curfew Order - imposed by the courts on offenders over the age of 16
- Home Detention Curfew - imposed by the Prison Governor as part of your early release from prison.
Find out more about what happens when you have a curfew
What is the tag?
It is a way of making sure that you are staying at the agreed address during the times you have been told. The tag will be attached to your wrist or ankle. It is a small electronic device which looks like a watch.
Your tag is linked to a monitoring machine installed in the place where you are living. The machine is linked via a telephone line to a monitoring centre. Staff at the monitoring centre can immediately tell if the curfew is broken and can return you to court or prison if you break the curfew.
