What information does the Probation Service hold that may be useful?

These are assessments prepared by the probation officer for use by the court. They give the sentencing judge (or magistrates) an idea of the individual’s background and the most suitable sentence for the offence they have committed. It is written with the seriousness of the offence in mind, as well as the individual’s suitability to carry out particular types of sentence.

The report is developed based on an interview with the individual due to be sentenced, and draws on other information held by the Probation Service (such as supervision notes and information contained in previous assessments or on case management systems). Where appropriate, additional information will be requested from other statutory agencies (e.g. police information on domestic abuse or safeguarding concerns) or third-party organisations (e.g. substance misuse/mental health treatment).

Details in the report include:

• an assessment of the individual’s index offence(s) and criminal history, with particular attention to any current/past sexual or violent offending
• an assessment of the risk of serious harm they pose to others, including children
• information about their family and relationship context, including whether children are present in their home or part of their life.

The information contained in a pre-sentence report will provide a detailed analysis of the individual’s personal circumstances and the risks they pose, to inform the Court and other relevant organisations when considering issues relating to child safeguarding risks.

Note: Pre-sentence reports written in relation to a person under the age of 18 are owned by the youth justice service.

Many risk assessment tools are technical and are designed to be interpreted by practitioners with specific training and experience; the scores, categories, and underlying factors may not be self-explanatory to those outside the originating agency. Other practitioners should therefore rely on the assessing practitioner’s analysis and explanation of what the assessment indicates in practice, rather than drawing their own conclusions from raw scores or labels.

Used appropriately, information from risk assessments can help build a fuller picture of risk and inform safeguarding planning, but it should always be considered alongside other evidence such as current behaviour, contextual information, information from other organisations, and the individual’s own experiences, rather than being interpreted in isolation.

When risk assessment information is shared with other practitioners as part of a multi-agency assessment because of concerns about child sexual abuse, it is important that the detail is used carefully and with an understanding of its purpose and limitations.

The Offender Assessment System (OASys)

OASys is used in England and Wales by HM Prison and Probation Service for undertaking an assessment of the risks posed by, and needs of, any convicted individual.

It uses the four-step process of risk assessment – a structured framework, following a step-by-step process to help make a decision about whether an individual poses a Low, Medium. High or Very High risk of serious harm.

Step 1 is the calculation of actuarial risk predictor scores (see ‘Sexual Reoffending Predictor’ below).

Step 2 assesses the presence of risk and protective factors.

Step 3 covers immediacy of the risk.

Step 4 draws on the information from the previous steps to inform an overall level of risk of serious harm.

This risk assessment process enables the probation practitioner to:

• Identify offence-related risks and needs, and other behaviours indicative of concern
• assess the risk of serious harm posed to specific groups: Public, Known Adults, Children, Staff, Prisoners, Self
• devise an individualised Risk Management Plan, to respond to the risks that have been identified
• develop a Sentence Plan to target the offence-related risks and needs
• measure change during the period of supervision.

When undertaking assessments of individuals convicted of sexual offences, practitioners will also answer questions to assess the absence or presence of sexual pre-occupation, offence related sexual interests and emotional congruence with children.

Sexual Reoffending Predictor (SRP)

As mentioned above, the first step in the risk assessment process is calculating the risk predictors. The Sexual Reoffending Predictor (SRP) is calculated for men who have been convicted of a sexual offence to predict the likelihood of sexual reoffending, based on static information such as the number and nature of previous sexual offences, the age of the individual etc. It produces two risk levels:

• DC-SRP (Direct Contact-SRP) predicts the likelihood of proven reoffending for a sexual offence involving actual or attempted physical contact with a victim such as rape and sexual assault, and will give a risk banding of low, medium, high and very high.
• IIC-SRP (Image and Indirect Contact-SRP) predicts the likelihood of proven indirect child contact offending (that is, certain specific offences against a child victim where there was no direct physical assault such as grooming or sexual communication) and/or possessing or downloading of indecent images of children (IIOC), and will give a risk banding of low, medium and high.

Every individual will receive both scores regardless of the type of sexual offence/s they have committed in the past. This means that, even if someone has previous convictions for indecent images of children, they will also have a valid DC score which helps the assessor understand the likelihood of that individual going on to commit a contact sexual offence in the future.

The type of sentence that an individual is serving will determine the conditions that can be added to their sentence, and the enforcement action that can be used if they do not comply.

Licence following release from prison

Offenders released from custody under probation supervision are subject to licence conditions. The aims of the licence period are to protect the public, prevent re-offending, and secure the successful re-integration of the offender on licence into the community. Licence conditions must, by law, be preventative rather than punitive, and must be proportionate, reasonable and necessary.

They include requirements to attend supervision appointments and/or seek approval for accommodation and employment, and restrictions on travel. Additional conditions may be imposed to manage specific risks, such as prohibitions on contact with children, prohibition from working or residing with children, entering certain areas, forming new relationships without disclosure, or being required to have polygraph tests.

If the individual breaches their licence conditions, the probation practitioner will determine what action to take. Depending on the nature of the breach, this may include increased reporting, additional conditions being added to the licence, or other additional risk management measures. If the breach of licence indicates that the individual can no longer be safely managed in the community, they may be immediately recalled to prison.

Sentences served in the community

When an individual is given a community or suspended sentence and made subject to supervision for a sexual offence, they will not have the same restrictions that someone has when released on licence from prison.

All individuals serving a sentence in the community will be subject to either a community sentence or licenced release from custody The individual will be supervised by the Probation Service; the probation practitioner will undertake a thorough risk assessment which will consider the specific details of the individual’s case and an assessment of the risk that they pose, in order to develop a robust risk management plan.

Supervision requires the individual to attend regular meetings with a probation practitioner. They may also be subject to pre-arranged or unannounced home visits, including visits undertaken jointly with the police. As part of their sentence plan, they may have to undertake specific offence-focused work which could include attending a groupwork programme or undertaking structured one-to-one intervention with a probation practitioner. Probation practitioners will regularly review individuals’ progress and will also offer advice on issues such as accommodation, employment and finance.

Where it is alleged that an individual subject to a Court Order has failed to comply with a requirement of their Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order (e.g. failure to attend an appointment, or unreasonable behaviour), the probation practitioner will issue a warning; alternatively, if the individual has already been given a warning in the previous 12 months; or the probation practitioner judges the breach to be serious enough, breach proceedings will be commenced.

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements are arrangements to facilitate information sharing and the joined-up management of sexual, violent and terrorist offenders by government agencies.

MAPPA is not an organisation and does not hold data, but MAPPA documents do contain data provided by a range of agencies. These documents will be held by the agencies involved.

MAPPA meetings are held for the most concerning individuals. Each agency present will be sent a copy of the minutes of these meetings. MAPPA meeting minutes may be shared within an agency where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. Routine sharing of MAPPA minutes within an agency must be approved by the MAPPA Meeting Chair. MAPPA meeting minutes may not be shared with another agency without the permission of the MAPPA Meeting Chair.

Information shared at MAPPA meetings should be ascribed to the agency that provided it, not to the MAPPA meeting minutes.

The information contained in MAPPA documentation is obtained from agency case management systems, and agencies should refer to those systems rather than MAPPA documents.

Section 327A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires the responsible MAPPA authority to consider disclosing information around previous convictions for child sexual offences.

Approved Premises accommodate higher risk adult prison leavers and people on probation. They provide a high level of supervision in a controlled environment and are closely integrated with Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).

The core purpose of Approved Premises is to protect the public by addressing and managing complex needs and behaviours for those who are referred, within a rehabilitation and recovery-focused environment which is tailored to each individual (and, in the case of female Approved Premises, is designed for the specific needs of women in the criminal justice system).

Approved Premises are an important part of the criminal justice system and work best with clear, reciprocated links with partners such as probation practitioners, prison staff, MAPPA, police, health and local authorities, local and national charities and other supporting groups. Approved Premises staff have a valuable role in sharing information around health and other vulnerabilities which could potentially have a positive impact in securing successful outcomes with future placement activity with local authorities.

Where information sharing with external agencies is required, including for child safeguarding purposes, Approved Premises follow appropriate national and local information-sharing protocols. Approved Premises staff link closely with probation practitioners to discuss issues related to the sentence management of residents, and will report any concerning behaviour or activity as part of this process. This may include information that is used in in enforcement procedures if licence requirements have been breached or there is evidence that risk has increased. Any situations where staff believe a child is at imminent risk of harm, as a result of the actions or behaviour of someone living in Approved Premises, will be immediately reported in line with probation safeguarding procedures.

Polygraph tests are used to support the risk management of certain individuals released on licence after being convicted of sexual offences, if they are assessed as posing a high risk of harm and reoffending. They record the physiological responses to a small number of targeted questions, which are interpreted to determine whether the individual has responded to questions in a truthful or deceptive manner.

These tests are principally used to monitor an individual’s compliance with other licence conditions, such as entering exclusion zones or having prohibited contact with victims, and can provide valuable risk-related information which can be used to support risk management activity.