Parents’ sex offender checks piloted
The Courier: 28 May 2009 >> article

Parents in Tayside will be the first in Scotland to be given new rights to know if a sex offender has access to their children.

VIEWPOINT: The safety of our children from sex offenders is of the utmost importance and Sacro will await the results of this disclosure pilot in Tayside with interest.

The government has quite rightly dismissed calls for a blanket disclosure of registered sex offenders living in the community and Sacro commends the government for this responsible stance. The widespread “outing” of registered sex offenders only serves to make communities less safe by driving them “below ground” without proper monitoring and support. It also increases the likelihood of vigilante activity and can place unnecessary restrictions on children’s ability to play outdoors due to a perceived increase in risk.

Scotland already has robust procedures in place to monitor sex offenders – particularly Multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) which facilitate the sharing of information and responsibility among those bodies involved in engagement with offenders.

Although MAPPA provides a very effective framework for monitoring, it must be remembered that sex offenders can be highly manipulative and very adept at disguising their activities. There is a widely held view that provision of monitoring and support from trained volunteers within the community can be a valuable complement to existing procedures. One such approach known as “Circles of Support and Accountability (Circles)” is a model of intervention that assists in the monitoring and community re-integration of certain sex offenders.

Circles are designed to reduce the risk of re-offending by sex offenders released from prison at the end of their sentences. In so doing they complement formal risk management arrangements in order to assist certain sexual offenders re-integrate into their communities. Circles use trained volunteers, selected, coordinated and supervised by professionals, in order to provide support and monitoring for offenders who are committed to avoiding further offending. Circles have the potential to increase community safety by encouraging and assisting the ex-offender to live an offence free lifestyle as well as informing formal community protection agencies that there may be a danger of relapse.

Circles originated from Canada and have successfully been developed in England and Wales since 2002, where they were pilot funded by the Home Office. In Scotland there has been interest in Circles since 2001. A national Steering Group comprising Police, Social Work, the SPS, voluntary sector charities and faith based organisations, monitors developments in England and Wales and promotes the use of Circles in Scotland. This Steering Group have submitted two proposals, in 2003 and 2007, to the Scottish Government requesting financial support to Pilot Circles in Scotland. To date the Government has been unable to commit funding to this initiative. At the present time there are a number of Community Justice Areas and Local Authorities in Scotland who have expressed an interest in involved in Piloting Circles, and discussions are ongoing with these agencies.

The evidence to support Circles as an effective intervention is compelling. Two major studies have taken place to date, one in Canada and one in Thames Valley, England.

The Canadian research found reoffending rates for sexual crimes were 70% lower for a Circles group of 60 offenders in comparison to a closely matched control group. Of any reoffending that did take place, there was a significant drop in the violent nature of the offence. Even better results were seen in England where there was not one conviction for a new sexual offence among a Circles group of 20 offenders. Even more encouraging was the fact that eight of the group were identified by the Circles members as being about to reoffend and the situation was dealt with prior to an offence taking place.

More information about Circles of Support and Accountability can be found at www.circles-uk.org.uk. All enquiries in relation to Circles in Scotland should be forwarded to Keith Simpson, the Chair of the Scottish Circles Steering Group on 0131 624 7263 or ksimpson@national.sacro.org.uk