Fear over ‘poor’ control of sex offenders and violent criminals

Wide variations in the management of high-risk offenders in the community are exposed in a report to be published today.

The report warns that community-based supervision of sex offenders and those convicted of serious violent offences – usually when released from prison – is variable, and poor in many cases, in the way it is planned and executed.

Serious concerns were also raised about the electronic Violent and Sex Offender Register (Visor), a UK-wide database set up in 2005 to improve information sharing.

The report warns that Visor terminals are protected by such significant physical security that they are virtually unusable for social workers.

The report is the result of a joint inspection between three agencies, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and the Social Work Inspection Agency.

It records considerable variations across Scotland on how police, social workers and prisons manage sex offenders and serious violent offenders.

The report criticises plans made by social workers for sex offenders, saying one-third were of insufficient quality while the management plans for two-thirds of serious violent offenders had not given adequate consideration to the risk they posed.

Even where such plans included the possibility of home visits and unannounced home visits, in many cases no such visits took place in reality.

The report praises agencies such as police, social work and the prison service for “purposeful” work done to protect the public from the risk posed by sex offenders, but it warns that “management of serious violent offenders was significantly less encouraging”.

Progress in getting agencies to work together more is also mixed, according to the report. The so-called Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) introduced in April 2007 are improving the management of sex offenders. However, health professionals in the community are criticised for inconsistent and unsatisfactory attendance at Mappa meetings. Police officers also appear unclear about the critical importance risk assessments, the report suggests.

The report makes 19 recommendations for change for Scottish ministers and key agencies.

“One of these calls for urgent attention to the “serious problems” handicapping users of the Visor system.

Agencies access Visor through stand-alone terminals in a secure room.

This makes it impossible for social workers to copy information readily into it from their own systems.

Alexis Jay, Scotland’s chief inspector of social work, said: “It is important that agencies do everything they can to reduce the risk of harm to the public.

“We have identified challenges for the Scottish government and local authorities, health services, police and the Scottish Prison Service. It is essential that these challenges are met.”

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill welcomed the report, saying: “Public protection is a continuous process and the inspectors have outlined the key areas where we and our criminal justice partners can further strengthen processes.”