Care watchdog issues crimes warning

There is an under-reporting of serious incidents involving criminals under community supervision in some parts of Scotland, according to the care watchdog.
There were 45 serious criminal social work incidents reported to the Care Inspectorate between the publication of new reporting guidelines in January 2012 and May this year, the watchdog said in its annual report.

These included 10 murders, a culpable homicide, eight sex offences, seven attempted murders, 10 unexplained deaths, four suicides, three severe assaults and two overdoses.

However, the Care Inspectorate remains “unconvinced” that all council areas are reporting accurately or even reporting at all.

Serious incident reviews take place when something goes seriously wrong involving an offender on license or supervision.

This includes where an offender is suspected of carrying out a criminal offence while on licence which results in death or serious harm to someone else, or where the offender has died or been injured in a way likely to generate significant public concern.

The annual report stated: “We believe there is under-reporting of serious incidents in some council areas across Scotland.”

It added: “We have been impressed by the way many of the local authority areas have used the serious incident review process to learn and improve their services.

“Used well, the process provides assurance for many that criminal justice social work services are evidencing sound practice and staff are delivering services effectively.

“However as we have received notifications from only 17 of the 32 local authorities, and small numbers from some areas, we remain unconvinced that all local authority areas are reporting accurately or, indeed, reporting at all.

“This indicates 15 local authorities – just under half – have had no serious incidents.

“We accept that in some areas this may be the case but we strongly recommend that other areas ensure they follow the guidance and notify us.”

The watchdog will continue to monitor progress with a view to seeing “evidence of increased reflections on good practice and improved reporting” in the coming year.

It has recommended a consistent approach to managing cross-authority or shared services supervision arrangements, clarity on who is responsible for notification, closer scrutiny of the effectiveness of alcohol and drug support services, improved information-sharing and dissemination of the incident review guidance among care workers with a focus on ensuring compliance.

Paul Edie, chair of the Care Inspectorate, said: “The Care Inspectorate provides independent scrutiny not just of social care, but criminal justice social work too.

“Where an offender is on license or supervision, there is intense public interest in how they are supervised and if things go wrong, we – as a watchdog – play an important role.

“Effective community justice social work can and should prevent reoffending and support offenders to live a life free from crime.

“We monitor and comment on serious incident reviews because, when things do go wrong, it is essential that the right lessons are learned by people across Scotland.

“Our independent scrutiny of serious incidents and how they were handled is essential to driving up quality and improving the public protection.

“Local authorities supervise many thousands of offenders on license and, although every serious incident is by its very nature concerning, numbers are fortunately low. This is the first report on serious incident reviews since new procedures were drawn up last year.

“Over the coming months, I am keen to see further thematic publications from the Care Inspectorate highlighting to the public what we find during our inspection and scrutiny work.”

Director of inspection Dr Robert Peat said: “Not every serious incident can be prevented, but is it is extremely important to consider whether things might have been done better or differently.

“We are today making a number of recommendations for local authorities which arise directly from our assessments of serious incident reviews.

“While there is some excellent practice, there needs to be better working and information-sharing between local authorities, and more support for people with substance misuse issues.

“We are concerned that there is some under-reporting of serious incidents and are actively working with local authorities to ensure all staff understand and follow the latest procedures.”