Electronic tagging of asylum seekers sparks bold pilot plan
Katy Bourne, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex, has proposed they are used on male asylum seekers set to be housed at a military training camp in the area. She urged Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to 'be bold' and use the arrival of 540 asylum seekers at Crowborough Training Camp as a ‘pilot’ to see if the scheme helps discourage crime. Ms Bourne suggested the move would deter migrants from criminality – while also giving them ‘greater freedom’ to travel further from holding centres and get temporary employment. She drew a comparison with a ‘promising’ trial scheme launched earlier in 2025 where Sussex Police tagged persistent shoplifters. Ms Bourne added: ‘The police monitoring the tags can tell exactly where the offenders are and, so far, the shoplifters are changing their behaviours.’ The PCC said if people refused to wear a tag ‘it would be an indication that they are intending to abscond or are involved in unlawful activity’. Speaking to BBC Sussex, she added: 'With thousands of people awaiting asylum processing, the potential for them to become involved in crime - as a perpetrator or victim - is inevitable, meaning police will be looking for people with very little official ID or existing digital footprint in the UK.' 'I have a New Year's resolution for the Home Secretary - why not be bold and pilot tagging of the men due to arrive soon at Crowborough?' 'You might end up being thanked by taxpayers, the police and the migrants themselves.'
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PCC Katy Bourne proposes tagging male asylum seekers at Crowborough as a pilot
Katy Bourne has proposed that asylum seekers be tagged electronically to track them, using the arrival of 540 asylum seekers at Crowborough Training Camp as a potential pilot. The plan would see tagging on the male asylum seekers set to be housed at the military site in Sussex. Bourne argued the scheme could deter crime while giving migrants ‘greater freedom’ to travel beyond holding centres and seek temporary work. She noted a ‘promising’ trial scheme launched earlier in 2025 where Sussex Police tagged persistent shoplifters, and said: ‘The police monitoring the tags can tell exactly where the offenders are and, so far, the shoplifters are changing their behaviours.’ The PCC argued that if people refuse to wear a tag ‘it would be an indication that they are intending to abscond or are involved in unlawful activity’. Bourne also told BBC Sussex: 'With thousands of people awaiting asylum processing, the potential for them to become involved in crime - as a perpetrator or victim - is inevitable, meaning police will be looking for people with very little official ID or existing digital footprint in the UK.' 'I have a New Year's resolution for the Home Secretary - why not be bold and pilot tagging of the men due to arrive soon at Crowborough?' 'You might end up being thanked by taxpayers, the police and the migrants themselves.'
Reaction and legal constraints: politicians weigh in
The Immigration Act 2016 currently requires electronic monitoring to be applied to individuals facing deportation, unless doing so would breach their human rights or is impractical, the Home Office said. The Tories backed Ms Bourne's proposals, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp telling the Daily Mail that 'anything that keeps tabs better on these illegal immigrants is welcome, especially given the sex crimes they commit against women and girls'. He added: 'The government response to Katy’s tagging plan says that tagging illegal immigrants in asylum accommodation would break their human rights. 'What about the human rights of the women and girls who have been raped and sexually assaulted by illegal immigrants living in asylum accommodation? The government doesn’t seem to care about their rights.' However, Philp suggested while this is a welcome measure, leaving the ECHR would ultimately 'allow all illegal immigrants to be deported within a week of arriving, with no court hearings or delays'. He added that Labour is 'too weak to do that'. Tory MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield Mims Davies said: 'Many of my constituents feel exactly the same as the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne in wanting those in our community to be tagged and they be tracked and registered properly. and believe we should find a way.' Do you support fitting asylum seekers with electronic tags? Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage told the Daily Mail that Bourne's proposals are 'not the answer' as 'none of these men should be free to roam the streets'. Both the Conservatives and Reform UK have said they would quit the ECHR as part of efforts to tackle immigration. Despite her party's vow to 'welcome' migrants, Green deputy leader Rachel Millward has voiced opposition to the housing of asylum seekers in Crowborough. In a letter to the Home Office sent in October, Millward said her 'strong objection' to the use of Crowborough training camp for housing migrants was based on 'safety' fears for both locals and asylum seekers themselves.
Protests, opposition and what happens next
The Home Office decision on whether to house the asylum seekers at the Crowborough military site will be taken in the new year. Do you support fitting asylum seekers with electronic tags? The situation has drawn mixed reactions: Nigel Farage said the tagging plan is not the answer and that none of these men should be free to roam the streets. 'not the answer' as 'none of these men should be free to roam the streets'. The Conservatives and Reform UK have said they would quit the ECHR as part of efforts to tackle immigration. Despite her party's vow to 'welcome' migrants, Green deputy leader Rachel Millward has voiced opposition to the housing of asylum seekers in Crowborough, saying she has 'strong objection' based on 'safety' concerns for locals and asylum seekers. Millward added that Bourne 'should know better' in proposing asylum seekers wear electronic tags 'given that it was under the previous Conservative government that tagging asylum seekers was trialled and found unlawful'. Millward also noted: In October, Millward wrote in a letter to the Home Office that she objects on safety grounds. The Home Office has since confirmed a decision on whether to house the asylum seekers in the military site will be taken in the new year.
