Criminals are being tracked by a new type of electronic tag being trialled by Durham Constabulary.
The tags have been fitted to 10 offenders with a history of committing crime and enable the force to monitor the movements of the individuals remotely.
This means officers’ time will be freed up to be spend time on other priorities and maintain a visible police presence.
Police & Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg (pictured) said: “One of my priorities is to reduce crime and this initiative gives practical expression to that aim.
“I am confident that we will see reduced reoffending as a result of this work, and I am keen to work with the force for it to become part of the Checkpoint Project which is designed to reduce crime.
“If the pilot is successful, I will work with the force to increase the number of tags being used substantially.”
Durham Constabulary Detective Sergeant Andy Crowe added: “We are running this pilot scheme over the next two months and based on previous work we have done we expect to see a large reduction in the offending patterns of the individuals who wear the tags.
“They are cheap to buy and cheap to run which is important as it shows that the force is keen to demonstrate value for money.”