Up to 150 people will wear ankle tags to test if they flout their drinking ban, under 12-month trial launched by London mayor

Binge drinkers who commit minor crimes will be prevented from drinking for set periods using ankle tags that measure whether they are consuming alcohol, under a scheme to be trialled in London.

The year-long test, covering four parts of south London, will be the first in which offenders are compulsorily fitted with the tags, which measure alcohol levels in perspiration and transmit the readings to a base station in the person's home. If alcohol is detected, an alert is sent to probation officers. Breaches of the order, or tampering with the tags, can bring prison sentences.

Northamptonshire police launched a voluntary scheme using the same tags in May, but only three people have been fitted with them. The London trial is expected to involve up to 150 offenders, who will be banned from drinking alcohol for 120 days.

The "sobriety tag" scheme was launched by the city's mayor, Boris Johnson, who visited the magistrates court in Croydon, one of the areas to test the technology, along with Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton.

He said: "Alcohol-fuelled criminal behaviour is a real scourge on our high streets, deterring law-abiding citizens from enjoying our great city, especially at night, placing massive strain on frontline services, whilst costing businesses and the taxpayer billions of pounds.

"This is an approach that has seen impressive results in the US, steering binge drinkers away from repeated criminal behaviour, and I am pleased we can now launch a pilot scheme in London."

The tags, somewhat bulkier than their longer established equivalents that monitor whereabouts to enforce compliance of nighttime curfews and the like, are made by Alcohol Monitoring Systems, a Colorado-based company whose technology has been used for more than a decade in the US.

Under a 2012 law courts are able to order offenders to abstain from alcohol for up to 120 days. A guidance booklet about the use of the tags produced by the mayor's office for policing and crime suggests suggest offences such as drink-driving, resisting arrest, common assault and criminal damage as suitable for the scheme, on the proviso that alcohol played a role in the crime. Offences related to domestic violence are excluded.

Probation officers will screen possible participants, and the trial also excludes anyone dependent on alcohol, who needs treatment and for whom a sudden, 120-day abstinence period would be unrealistic. Those on the programme will also be offered advice and treatment over their alcohol use.

Johnson has closely modelled the scheme on the US experience, where the tags are seen as a success. He sought advice from Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, who was formerly a White House drugs policy adviser. Such round-the-clock monitoring schemes had had "a transformative effect on alcohol-fuelled crime in the US", Humphreys said in a statement released by the mayor's office.

After someone has a tag fitted they will be required to be at home at certain times of the day, usually twice, so the base station can read alcohol measurements from the tag. If no readings are received for 48 hours this is seen as a breach of the order. Offenders will be given a range of guidelines, including being careful not to spray perfumes containing alcohol on the tag or to immerse it in water – baths and swimming are prohibited during the monitoring period with only showers allowed. Spray tans are similarly proscribed.

The charity Alcohol Concern welcomed the scheme but said it must be used in conjunction with effective treatment and other measures. The group's chief executive, Jackie Ballard, said: "About half of all crime is alcohol-related so it makes sense to get to the heart of the problem by tackling drinking amongst offenders. The alcohol detection tag is a good idea and worth trying, but to work effectively it's important that people are given support and access to treatment to truly help them tackle their drinking problems.

"While we welcome local areas taking initiative, it's vital the national government take action through introducing minimum unit pricing which is shown to work in other countries through cutting crime and saving lives."