2,200 dangerous offenders are living in county
More than 2,200 dangerous offenders live in our county according to the latest figures released by a crime fighting co-op.
Figures released by the MultiAgency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) reveal 1,489 registered sex offenders, 780 violent criminals and a further five dangerous people living in Kent.
MAPPA is a group of several organisations set up to monitor convicted offenders who are no longer in custody but still pose a potential risk to the public.
In Kent, which has a population of nearly 1.5m, figures are higher than in neighbouring counties. In Essex there are 1,062 registered sex offenders, with 1,199 in Sussex and 563 in Surrey.
Kent also has nearly as many violent criminals than its three neighbours combined. In this category there are 336 in Essex with 332 in Sussex and 142 in Surrey.
The figures were released at the end of October and cover April 2013 to March 2014.
During that time our county saw 156 Sexual Offences Protec- tion Orders issued. These can place restrictions on a person, or require certain behaviour to reduce the risk of future harm to the public.
Despite the increased monitoring 25 sex offenders were cautioned or convicted for breaching requirements placed on them and seven were sent back into custody.
MAPPA is predominantly a partnership between Kent Police, the probation service and prison services.
Other organisations, such as local authorities are also involved. A foreword to the report signed by Alan Pughsley, Kent’s chief constable, stated: “MAPPA is recognised as a world-leading approach to the management of high risk offenders. Consistent and focused work has provided a high standard of service, reflected in continued improvement in our practice and effectiveness.”
Information on the circumstances around people who have offended previously is shared between the organisations. The intervention needed is split into three levels, ranging from level one to three, with three given to the most dangerous.
Level one requires no use of MAPPA resources, level two sees an active involvement from more than one partner organisation and level three requires oversight from senior managers.
In March, the end of the reporting period, only two sex offenders in Kent were being monitored by senior officials with a further 15 at level two. But during the course of the year staff took a close look at 49 people who had committed a sex crime.
As of March three violent offenders and five other dangerous criminals were at level two surveillance and over the course of the year 18 people were at this level of surveillance.