Ten years after I proposed it, I’m pleased to report that we are rolling out ‘sobriety tags’ to tackle alcohol related crime and they are going to help make our towns and villages safer.

Instead of going to prison, offenders will be ordered by a judge to wear a tag around their ankle, which monitors their sweat every 30 minutes, and alerts the probation service if alcohol is detected.

Alcohol is behind a massive amount of crime, including 39 per cent of violent crime. It costs us £21 billion a year through its socio-economic impact.

All too often we see the devastating effects of alcohol-fuelled behaviour, reckless crimes and casual violence which blight our neighbourhoods and the lives of too many victims.

This new tool can break the self-destructive cycle that offenders end up in. It helps them sober up if they choose to or go to court or be punished if they don’t. Of course, we need to help people change their ways too and that’s why we’re backing up the roll out of sobriety tags with targeted and professional support to help them improve their lifestyle and habits.

After very successful trials in London, Humberside, Lincolnshire, and North Yorkshire, we are rolling out sobriety tags in Wales from today and they will be extended to England early next year.

Sadly here in beautiful North West Hampshire, we are not immune from crimes caused by alcohol be it domestic violence or criminal damage.

I look forward to seeing this piece of technology driving crime down further locally and making our towns and villages safer.