According to the plans of the Home Office and the UK Ministry of Justice, migrants convicted of
In May, the government awarded a contract to British technology company Buddi Limited to supply surveillance devices for "certain groups" as part of the Home Office's satellite tracking service.This scheme is due to be rolled out from autumn across the UK, with the initial costs being£6 million.
In documents seen by The Guardian, the Home Office says the scheme willinclude "daily monitoring of persons subject to immigration control", with the requirement to wear either a bracelet at all timeson the ankle, or a smartwatch.
Photos taken with the smartwatch will be checked against biometric images of faces in the systems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and if the image verification fails, then the verification will have to be carried out manually.The data will be passed on to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the police, with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs adding: "The transfer of this data to the police is not something new."
The country's interior ministry says the smartwatch scheme will target foreign nationals convicted of a criminal offense and not other groups such as asylum seekers.