Inspector calls for review in dealing with sex offenders

JUST half of Scotland’s sex offenders agree to undergo rehabilitation programmes in prison, prompting calls for an urgent review of how they are managed.

Brigadier Hugh Monro, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, called for a new national policy to manage the risk they pose when released.

The Scottish Prison Service said only half of the estimated 650 sex offenders in Scottish jails had agreed to take part in rehabilitation programmes.

Brigadier Monro said: “We need to look at the risks again, and not just in prison work but across the community.

“We need to have a national review, and out of that should come national policy for sex offenders.”

The Scottish Prison Service is introducing a new approach aimed at tackling reoffending.

A spokesman said: “There is already a national sex offenders strategy, and we work with other agencies to support that.

“We are now putting in place an evidence-based intervention policy for all offenders that will address behaviour and risk.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government added: “Scotland is one of the leading countries in the world in its approach to the management of sex offenders. The multi-agency public protection arrangements have strengthened how police and other agencies work together to manage and minimise the risks.”