Home Secretary David Blunkett today launched a trial to monitor prolific criminals using satellite tracking.

£3million, year long pilot will take place in Greater Manchester, Hampshire and the West Midlands, designed to ensure sex offenders and perpetrators of domestic violence do not enter 'exclusion zones', dictated by their probation release conditions.

'The government is determined to be at the cutting edge of technology in the drive to make our communities safer and ensure more effective sentencing of offenders,' said Home Secretary, David Blunkett.

Convicted burglars, car thieves and persistent young offenders will also be fitted with electronic tags and will be tracked using satellite global positioning systems, which will be backed up by mobile phone technology.

The trials will use passive and hybrid satellite tracking. Passive technology will monitor offenders retrospectively, while hybrid tags will ?go live? when they enter an exclusion area.

Offenders will then be tracked in real-time, with police and probation services able to see the criminal's location within two metres on an ordinance survey map.

'Having greater levels of information and intelligence about the movements and behaviour of these individuals will be beneficial in preventing and solving crime and protecting the public,' said Liam Brigginshaw, assistant chief constable of Essex Police.

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