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ALMOST one in six of people in Northern Ireland fitted with an electronic tag live in west Belfast, according to new figures.

The constituency has the highest proportion of people under the strict monitoring while they await criminal trial.

There are 49 people living in the area who wear the tags, with 47 in nearby north Belfast - which has almost 8,500 more people living in its environs.

Foyle, which includes Derry city, has 34 people currently fitted with electronic tags.

Lagan Valley, with a population of 104,621, around 20,000 more than west Belfast, has the lowest number - with just four people tagged.

This is followed by North Down with five and Strangford and South Antrim who each have six people subject to such monitoring.

East and south Belfast are among the areas with the lowest number of people with the tags fitted - 11 and 12 respectively.

There are 321 people currently fitted with tags, according to the figures which were released by the department of justice.

Electronically monitored curfew orders have been used since the late 1990s and in the north are placed on suspects in conjunction with bail imposed by the court.

Security firm G4S provides electronic monitoring services in Northern Ireland.

Those fitted with it are usually under curfew and must stay at home or another specified place during certain hours and is fitted with an electronic tag, with a Home Monitoring Unit placed in their home to check they are keeping to their agreed hours.

On November 9 2015 the number of people who were subject to electronic tagging was 321. Breakdown by constituency:

Constituency Tags fitted

Belfast East 11

Belfast North 47

Belfast South 12

Belfast West 49

East Antrim 11

East Derry 24

Fermanagh & South Tyrone 18

Foyle 34

Lagan Valley 4

Mid Ulster 10

Newry & Armagh 19

North Antrim 17

North Down 5

South Antrim 6

South Down 12

Strangford 6

Upper Bann 23

West Tyrone 13

Total 321