Electronic tagging is being increasingly used as a punishment in the Netherlands, particular for people convicted of robbery and drugs-related crime.

Last year, 1,759 people had a monitor placed around their ankle, compared with some 900 in 2012, Sjef van Gennip, director of the Dutch probation service, told BNR radio.

Electronic tagging is cheaper than jail and allows people to keep their jobs which, in turn, reduces the re-offending rate, Van Gennip said.

‘In 2017 we should not think that prison is the only way to keep someone off the streets or to protect society,’ he told the broadcaster.

Of last year’s total tagging orders, one in four went to people convicted of some form of violent crime and 23% for drugs-related crime.