New probation restrictions on offenders will only come into force months after Labour begins releasing prisoners from jail early, it has emerged.
The Government has unveiled a series of new electronic tagging schemes designed to toughen probation supervision in the community.
But some will not be launched until the end of next year, long after sentencing reforms come into effect.
Labour's Sentencing Act, passed in January, will largely prevent courts imposing jail terms of under 12 months, with offenders handed community punishments instead.
The legislation will also allow prisoners to be freed after serving just one third of their sentence, if they show good behaviour in jail.
Both changes were introduced to free up space in the overcrowded jails, following a previous Labour programme which has already seen 50,000 criminals freed early from prison.
Sources at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed it would 'take time' to make improvements to the probation system.
But ministers aim to have a 'sustainable system' in place by April next year - more than a year after the sentencing reforms begin to be introduced.
Prisons and probation minister Lord Timpson has announced what he described as 'the biggest expansion of tagging in British history'
One new type of electronic tagging announced today is so-called 'proximity monitoring technology' to be piloted in a £5million scheme
One new programme being launched by the MoJ is a new type of electronic tagging scheme which allows victims of crimes such as stalking, domestic abuse or sex offences to be warned if a tagged offender is nearby.
A victim would carry an electronic device, or use an app on their smartphone, which would allow their position to be monitored by the probation service.
If a tagged offender who had previously targeted them strayed near to the victim's location it would trigger an alarm in a control centre, officials said.
Officials could then either contact the offender and tell them to move away, or police could be dispatched.
The victim could also be contacted to let them know the offender was in the vicinity, officials added.
The so-called 'proximity monitoring technology' will be piloted in a £5million scheme announced by the MoJ today.
It will come as part of a £100million expansion of electronic tagging.
Currently, 28,000 people are tagged at any one time, including 4,000 immigration cases.
The new announcement will see overall capacity expand by a further 7,000 tags.
There will be a new 'presumption' that every criminal will be fitted with an electronic tag before they are released from jail.
An existing pilot scheme which sees convicted burglars and thieves forced to wear a satellite GPS tag - allowing their movements to be tracked and cross-referenced with new offences - will be rolled out across the country.
However, it will not be expanded until the second half of next year.
Prisons and probation minister Lord Timpson said: 'This is the biggest expansion of tagging in British history and means the most dangerous offenders will now be watched more closely than ever before.
'By combining new technology with a stronger probation workforce, we're making sure those who pose the biggest risk are under constant scrutiny to better protect victims and the public.'
The Government claims its plan will allow probation officers to target the most dangerous offenders with face-to-face supervision, while those assessed as lower risk will require fewer routine appointments.