‘Significant progress’ by Cambridgeshire Constabulary in managing risks posed by registered sex offenders
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has closed its ‘cause of concern’ of how Cambridgeshire Constabulary manages risks posed by registered sex offenders in the community.
In a letter to Chief Constable Nick Dean, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher praised the “significant progress” in this area since its 2023-25 police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy inspection.
He said: “The changes you have overseen in this area as chief constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary have resulted in sustained improvements to help keep victims safe.
“I am pleased to officially close this cause of concern, effective from the date of this letter (December 9).”
At the time of the inspection, HMICFRS said the constabulary “wasn’t effectively managing registered sex offenders in the community”.
“As a result of our concerns, we graded the constabulary as inadequate for managing offenders and suspects,” said Mr Wilsher.
“We found supervisor reviews of registered sex offenders were poor. Intelligence checks on registered sex offenders were limited and active risk management system checks weren’t always completed within the legal deadlines.
“Welfare support for personnel in the management of sexual and violent offenders (MOSOVO) team was also poor. Offender managers had high workloads, usually managing 50 to 60 offenders each.
“Backlogs in online child abuse cases meant children weren’t being safeguarded quickly enough. We found some cases that were more than a year old.
“The constabulary’s approach to sharing information with partners, such as health, education and social services, was also inconsistent.”
The inspectorate recommended that within three months, Cambridgeshire Constabulary should develop a performance framework that helps it understand:
- Whether visits by one individual to registered sex offenders are appropriate; and
- What is included in its backlog of work, such as how overdue visits are and the risk level of the offenders involved.
Mr Wilsher said: “I am pleased that Cambridgeshire Constabulary has made significant progress in this area since we raised this cause of concern.
“During our reinspection work, we found that the constabulary is now making sure visits to registered sex offenders are carried out jointly by two officers.
“It is managing case backlogs in MOSOVO and the online child abuse safeguarding team in an appropriate and timely way. Overdue visits to registered sex offenders are prioritised in terms of risk and checked by supervisors.
“The constabulary has invested in more resources to help manage demand in MOSOVO and the online child abuse safeguarding team.
“It has an improved performance management framework and senior leaders now have a better understanding of risk within this area.
“Workloads are manageable and there is a clear process to inform senior leaders if workloads increase.”