The 'Buddi Tag' Evaluation

The ‘Buddi Tag’ is a voluntary GPS tag enabling the wearer’s movements to be electronically monitored over a period of approximately six weeks.

The Kent and Medway Violence Reducation Unit (KMVRU) Buddi Tag trained practitioners examine the data for the previous days to ensure the tag has been charged and examine the young person’s movements, taking action if relevant to protect the young person.

This may involve working with other statutory services, for example, local authority Youth Offending Teams, Social Care teams or Early Help teams.

The practitioners maintain regular telephone contact with the young person to provide support, the frequency depending on the level of risk. The Buddi Tag is not a system for immediate risk identification or a panic alarm.

Click here to read more about the KMVRU

 

The theory behind the programme is that a Buddi Tag, while it is worn:

• makes the wearer unattractive to potential exploiters (potential exploiters may not see the tag, but may be deterred if it is pointed out by the young person)
• makes the wearer more confident to rebuff approaches from people engaged in criminal activity,
• acts as a reminder to the wearer to avoid criminal activity.

Meanwhile, engagement with the KMVRU Buddi Tag Programme team should reinforce intentions to engage with other services and avoid criminal activity, which in turn may lead to:

• increased engagement with other statutory services,
• more contact with those not involved in criminal activity,
• less contact with those involved in criminal activity,

This changed pattern of engagement should lead to:

• changed intentions for the future,
• development of skills to manage relationships and seek help,
• better mental health
• greater wellbeing, self-efficacy, resilience

Ultimately, the aim is that young people will then engage more effectively with education, training and employment opportunities, experience a more stable home environment and higher levels of social wellbeing and avoid criminal activity.

The study is an uncontrolled evaluation of the impact of the KMVRU Buddi Tag programme on individual young people, measuring change over a period of tag-wearing and for up to 12 months afterwards. The resources available were insufficient to carry out a controlled investigation i.e., to discover the added value of the KMVRU Buddi Tag programme compared with usual management. In any case, how we might measure ‘added value’ is currently not known. The study will help us understand the outcomes of the Buddi Tag programme, the factors that contribute to its success, and its costs, and inform the development of a controlled evaluation, when there is sufficient national implementation to allow this.

The questions asked by the evaluation are:

·         Does wearing a Buddi Tag change a young person’s behaviour and make them feel safer?

·         Does engagement with the KMVRU Buddi Tag programme lead to:

o   Greater self-efficacy/resilience/reorientated locus of control?

o   More help-seeking?

o   Better well-being?

o   Greater engagement with other services?

o   Reduced contacts with the criminal justice system?

o   Greater engagement with education, training, or employment?

o   More stable home environment?

 

What aspects of the programme influence change in outcome measures – what appears to make it more effective?

·         What are the costs of the KMVRU Buddi Tag programme?

After the first three months of recruitment to the evaluation we have recruited a large number of young people and are likely to exceed our expected recruitment by a significant margin.

Data collection is going well. The University and VRU team are working effectively together to maximise response rates and solve problems. A good amount of the young people agreed to complete questionnaires at buddi tag fitting, which is promising – it is unusual to receive such high response rates in a population such as this.

We started recruiting participants in June 2023. As of 12^th September 2023:

• we have recruited 24 young people to the study; table 1 shows their demographic characteristics.
• Two young people have left the study, one because they changed their mind about having a Buddi Tag and the other because a court-mandated tag was fitted.
• Of the remaining 22, 14 have had their tag removed; duration of having a tag fitted was between 4 and 66 days.

 

 

 

Twelve of the 22 young people completed the questionnaire at tag fitting. Seven were in education, three were in employment and two gave answers suggesting an unstable home environment. The mental wellbeing score suggested that these young people had fairly poor wellbeing, placing them, on average in the bottom 15% of the population.

To date, four out of the fourteen young people who have had their tag removed have completed the questionnaire at tag removal. There were no significant changes in home circumstances, education or employment between tag fitting and tag removal. We found a slightly increase in wellbeing scores, but there are too few data at this stage to draw any firm conclusions about the significance of this.

We will finish recruitment in July 2024 to allow for at least 6 months follow up of all participants. Data collection with therefore be completed at the end of January 2025 and we will provide a final report in March/April 2025.