LONDON, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- People in Wales who have been banned from drinking by law can be ordered to wear "sobriety tags" to monitor their compliance from Wednesday, according to the British Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The ankle tags will be handed out to "alcohol-dependent" offenders as part of new abstinence orders that can ban them from drinking for four months.

The MoJ said the tags will monitor offenders' sweat every 30 minutes and alert the probation services if alcohol is consumed.

Not complying with an alcohol abstinence order could see offenders back in court for further sentencing or facing fines.

Official data showed that around 39 percent of violent crime is committed under the influence of alcohol, with alcohol-related harm costing society approximately 21 billion pounds (about 27 billion U.S. dollars) a year.

The tags have already been trialled in London, Humberside, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire and will be rolled out across the rest of England next year, said the MoJ.