High workloads leave Merseyside sex offender managers ‘playing catch-up’

Almost 100 visits to registered sex offenders were overdue in April this year, a review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has found.

Officers are also over-burdened with some tasked with overseeing up to 100 criminals – twice the recommended number – and suffer from poor communication with neighbourhood teams.

HM inspector Matt Parr recognised that safeguarding children was a priority for the force but warned the failings were having a “serious impact” on its ability to manage sex offenders.

“Too often, offender managers were playing catch-up and couldn’t prioritise preventative work. Neighbourhood policing teams were often unaware of sex offenders living in their communities,” he said.

“And it was particularly concerning to see that the force’s records show a backlog of 98 overdue visits to registered sex offenders.

“This is an area that requires real improvement before I can be confident that Merseyside Police is meeting its duty to keep children safe.”

HMICFRS’s report, published on Thursday (August 30), praised the commitment that Merseyside Police’s senior leadership team showed to child protection.

Inspectors found the force had strong partnership arrangements with local authorities and extensive welfare support measures in place for officers and staff dealing with these cases.

It has also doubled down on attempts to raise awareness among its workforce of individuals’ responsibilities regarding vulnerability and safeguarding, and has responded to the risks posed by County Lines offending that often sees young children exploited to deal drugs.

However, this focus has still not translated into consistently positive outcomes for local children.

Just 17 cases involving at-risk children out of 87 reviewed by HMICFRS saw good practice by the force, while 41 required improvement and another 29 were inadequate.

Recording of decisions and information about risk was noted as “inconsistent across the force”, requiring officers and staff to undertake significant research to assess what was happening in a case.

In too many cases, safeguarding plans lacked sufficient details and focused on short-term outcomes at the expense of considering the children’s welfare.

The sex offender unit was also managing 283 high-risk or very high-risk individuals at the time, but local officers were not being routinely informed about offenders in their areas.

The ratio of offenders to managers was around 100 to one, and 98 visits to offenders were outstanding.

HMICFRS recommended that Merseyside Police should review its approach to providing information on registered sex offenders to response and neighbourhood officers.

It also asked the force to ensure the risks being posed by these individuals were managed effectively.

Assistant Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said the number of registered sex offenders in the area has doubled in the last nine years.

She added: “The HMICFRs itself has recognised that work was already underway to tackle some of the issues raised, which demonstrates our understanding of the work to be undertaken and our continued determination to improve child protection in Merseyside.”