Report shows rise in registered sex offenders

Members of the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board have noted a report highlighting an increase in registered sex offenders in the area.

The 2019/2020 annual report on Tayside’s Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) was presented at a meeting of the IJB on Friday (April 23).

As of March 31, 2020 there were 124 registered sex offenders managed in the Perth and Kinross community – an increase of two on the previous year.

The report said there was a total of 407 registered sex offenders managed in the whole of the Tayside community (including Angus and Dundee) - an increase of 27 from the previous year.

It reported an increase of 113 offenders in the Tayside community over the past 10 years and said Offender Management Units and Social Work Public Protection teams added to their staff numbers to accommodate this increase.

According to the report Tayside has the fourth highest number of registered sex offenders in Scotland - after Glasgow, Lanarkshire, and Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

The report said:“The MAPPA process often commences when the offender is still in prison or detained in hospital. When release/discharge conditions are being considered public safety is of the highest priority.

“The MAPPA process becomes vitally important when the offender is released into the community and the management of risk is continually assessed and regularly reviewed at formal multi agency meetings.”

And the MAPPA arrangements were said to be largely working.

The report said:“It is recognised that no system can provide an absolute guarantee that an offender assessed as dangerous will not reoffend.

“However, last year more than 99 per cent of MAPPA offenders who were being supported and monitored did not commit a serious further offence and we will continue our efforts to reduce the risk posed by high risk of serious harm offenders in Tayside.

“Managing dangerous offenders is all about identifying risks, making decisionsand putting plans together to deal with the risk.

“ViSOR (Violent and Sex Offender Register) is at the heart of this and contributes to the reduction of further offending and protection of the public.”