The Justice Secretary has said making communities safer and allowing women to feel safe walking home at night is his “number one priority”.

Dominic Raab told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester that he wants to expand the use of electronic tagging monitoring alcohol and drug consumption, overhaul the Human Rights Act before the next election, and turn guidance in the victims code into law.

Speaking about the link between work and reduced rates of reoffending, he said employers looking to fill skills shortages should “come and talk to us at the Ministry of Justice”.

Mr Raab said the Government will “transform” the way the justice system treats violence against women.

He said he was “shocked and horrified by the harrowing murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa”.

And he said: “Making our communities safer, so that women can walk home at night without having to look over their shoulder, as your Justice Secretary, that is my number one priority. We will transform the way the justice system treats violence against women.”

The transformation will include from the time it takes to examine phone evidence to the “potential ordeal” vulnerable victims can face at trial, he said.

Sarah Everard
Sarah Everard was murdered by a serving policeman (Family handout/CPS/PA)

Speaking about overhauling the Human Rights Act, he said it is a change the public want to see, and that “for too long, too often, they witness dangerous criminals abusing our human rights laws”.

Giving an example of a drug dealer convicted of beating his ex-partner who claimed the right to family life to avoid deportation, Mr Raab said: “We’ve got to bring an end to that nonsense.”

And he said: “Under this Prime Minister and before the next election, we will overhaul the Human Rights Act to end this kind of abuse of the system, and to restore some commons sense to our justice system.”

Mr Raab also spoke about the link between having a job and something to lose with a reduced rate of reoffending, and said: “To any employer out there with a skills shortage, come and talk to us at the Ministry of Justice.”

He said “we need more employers willing” to take on ex-offenders.

The GPS tagging project started in April and was expanded to half of England and Wales last week.

Criminals in England who commit alcohol-fuelled crimes can be required to wear ankle tags that monitor their sweat every 30 minutes. The so-called sobriety tags alert the probation service if alcohol is detected in their sweat sample.

Mr Raab said of the scheme: “Because offenders now know that they will be caught if an alcohol absence order is breached, 95% fully comply. That means in on our trials alone 1,500 offenders taking that first positive step towards cleaning up their act.”

He added: “I want to expand their use, and I want to deliver the same game-changing technology for offenders who are addicted to drugs.”