LAGS let out of prison before Christmas are unlikely to be tagged until the New Year, probation officers fear.
Prisoners are supposed to be fitted with the tracking devices within two days of being released.
But some will be unmonitored and free to roam the streets until January because of delays in fitting them, staff warn.
Security company Serco should tag criminals within 24 to 48 hours of release.
A probation worker from the South said: “In some cases, some people who should be tagged are never fitted with one.
“We were told last week due to numbers likely released before Christmas, some might not get theirs until the New Year.”
Hundreds of inmates are released early before Christmas and New Year as they cannot be freed on bank holidays.
It means all offenders due for release on a Friday or the day before a bank holiday can be freed up to two days early.
In 2020, 116 prisoners whose automatic release date fell on December 25 or 26 were released on Christmas Eve.
Earlier this year, then-Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood criticised Serco’s performance as “not good enough”.
On the device delays, the Prison and Probation Service said: “These claims are inaccurate and misleading. We are not aware of any equipment issues.”
Serco, fined a six-figure sum in October 2024 for not fitting freed lags on time, added: “There are no problems with tagging offenders.”
