Treatment not charges for some sex offenders
pose a risk,” added Mr Whitelock.
The report says the management of sex offenders would be helped if social workers were using the UK-wide police database of violent and sexual offenders.
But some social workers have been put off by having to undergo police vetting before they can access the sensitive data. They have also been put off by a lack of physical access to terminals.
Progress in addressing this has been slow, the report says.
Meanwhile, social workers also lack the software and expertise to monitor the social media use of sex offenders, and need more guidance about whether to carry out risk assessments when rehousing them.
Progress in addressing these issues has been held up because a key Government advisory post has been vacant, the report adds. Karen Reid, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “There needs to be a concerted effort to overcome barriers to using the right tools designed to store and share information about managing sex offenders in the community.
“This will provide further reassurance to people and ensure that we are doing all that we can do to keep people safe.
“We shall continue to monitor progress of those recommendations that remain ongoing.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The monitoring of sex offenders is more rigorous than ever before, with greater police powers and a range of measures for high risk offenders – such as surveillance, electronic tagging, curfews and restrictions on where they can go or who they can contact.”