Management of sex offenders in the community by probation staff and police needs “considerable improvement” including a more integrated approach, a government inspection report has found.
The inspectorates of prisons, probation and constabulary also criticised the assessment of sex offenders in the study.
One hundred sex offender cases were inspected in Norfolk, Gwent, Merseyside, Devon and Cornwall, and West Yorkshire.
Inspectors found:
*A lack of integrated and accountable case management of sex offenders in the community. Service delivery was poorly-co-ordinated and inconsistent
*Multi-agency public protection meetings were not always integrated with the relevant probation and police case records
*Staff failing to record adequately all their contact with sex offenders and the work they and other agencies had done
*Lack of clarity about how effectively the sex offender register contributes to managing sex offenders in the community
*Probation staff not completing and reviewing the offender assessment system properly
*Gaps in staff training
“A more joined up strategic approach at a national and local level between police and probation for work with sex offenders and public protection would be helpful,” said chief inspector of probation Andrew Bridges.
Managing sex offenders in the community from www.inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk
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