Katy Bourne called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to pilot the scheme with single adult males due to be housed at Crowborough Training Camp.
A protest against plans to house migrants at Crowborough Training Camp (Image: Getty)
A proposal by Sussex’s police and crime commissioner to electronically tag asylum seekers has been rejected by the Home Office. The department stated that extending such measures beyond those facing deportation would breach human rights and prove impractical.
Katy Bourne suggested requiring asylum seekers to wear GPS tracking devices to monitor their movements. She argued this would deter criminal activity while allowing migrants greater freedom to travel beyond accommodation sites and potentially secure temporary employment.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Image: Getty)
Ms Bourne called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to pilot the scheme with single adult males due to be housed at Crowborough Training Camp, a former Army barracks in East Sussex, reported The Telegraph. The Government plans to accommodate up to 540 asylum seekers there temporarily, with the first arrivals expected in the new year amid local concerns.
The shift toward large-scale sites, such as Crowborough, follows a 2024 High Court ruling that clarified the Government’s obligations regarding “basic” accommodation standards. While the Home Office argues these sites are necessary to reduce the £8 million-a-day hotel Bill, human rights groups claim that isolated barracks create “quasi-detention” environments.
This tension has led to increased friction between local authorities and the central Government over policing resources, local infrastructure pressure, and the safety of both residents and the asylum seekers themselves.
Ms Bourne said: “With thousands of people awaiting asylum processing, the potential for them to become involved in crime – as a perpetrator or victim – is inevitable.”
Katy Bourne, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex (Image: PA)
Ms Bourne highlighted the challenges faced by police in identifying individuals with limited official identification or a digital footprint in the UK.
She pointed to a successful pilot in Sussex, launched earlier in 2025, where persistent shoplifters are tagged and subject to exclusion zones. Courts have imposed 12-month orders, with breaches punishable by up to five years in prison.
Ms Bourne told the BBC: “Initial results showed offenders changing behaviour.”
She added: “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.”
A record 110,000 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year to September 2025, partly driven by small boat crossings and visa holders switching to applications for refugee status. The Home Office already has powers under the Immigration Act 2016 to tag foreign national offenders and those facing deportation.
A spokesman said: “Without that circumstance, it would breach human rights or be impractical.”
The department is working to relocate asylum seekers to sites such as military bases, aiming to end the use of hotels and ease pressure on local communities.
All claimants are subject to mandatory security and biometric checks. The Crowborough plans have sparked protests and anxiety among residents, prompting Ms Bourne to seek extra policing funding.
