Home Detention Curfew

Home Detention Curfew is a detention scheme in the United Kingdom whereby certain short-term criminals are released from prison several weeks to months before the completion of their sentence to allow them to integrate back into society. The scheme is used for prisoners who are sentenced to terms greater than three months. Long term prisoners (these serving a sentence of more than four years but excluding life sentence prisoners) cannot be considered for release on the scheme. HDC is not typically applied to sex offenders or violent criminals sentenced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Prisoners are assessed for risk prior to being released under this scheme and fitted with an electronic monitoring tag to ensure that they do not violate the terms of their curfew. Typically, such prisoners are required to remain in their designated home between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.