BREACHES of tagging orders have soared by 28% in the last year, new figures suggested today.

BREACHES of tagging orders have soared by 28% in the last year, new figures suggested today.

And the number of reported breaches, 986, exceeded the number of tagging sentences imposed during the year - 984.

The figures were disclosed in criminal social work statistics published by the Executive.

These showed increased use of non-custodial penalties known as community sentences, and big increases in the number of breaches of these penalties.

Breaches of community service orders went up 6%, and breaches of probation orders went up 22%, although this was said to be partly due to a change in the way these were recorded in Glasgow.

Tagging orders as a form of sentencing became available to Scotland's courts in May 2002. Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said: "All the evidence points to a better mix of prison and community sentences as the best way to tackle reoffending."

An Executive spokeswoman said that the figures relating to tagging order breaches included instances of very low-level breaches.