An examination of the UK Sex Offender Register twenty-five years after its inception: which aspects are effective and proportionate, and which are in need of updating?

Ansbro, Maria (2023) An examination of the UK Sex Offender Register twenty-five years after its inception: which aspects are effective and proportionate, and which are in need of updating? In: British Society of Criminology conference, 27 - 30th June 2023, UCLAN Preston.

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Abstract

The Sex Offender Register was created by the 1997 Sex Offender Act, and the requirement to notify has now been in force for 25 years. This project has used a mixed methods approach to identify which aspects of the register are working effectively and proportionately, and which aspects would benefit from a re-evaluation. The research also examined the demographics of children who are 'on the register' - an issue upon which there was hitherto no information. We have drawn on statistics provided by the Police, and interviews with staff from key agencies (Police, Probation, Youth Justice, and staff from voluntary agencies/providers of treatment for young people). Data is still being analysed, but our key findings so far have identified: • clear contrasts in the way that police Public Protection Officers conceptualise their role • changing demographics of the Registered Sex Offender population, given that the register was designed in a pre-internet (pornography) age • striking - some would say concerning - changes in the way that the Sexual Harm Prevention Order is used • a range of modifications that could potentially make the register a more proportionate and targeted tool, one that is less labour intensive, and moreover one that reflects the shift from a risk paradigm to a contemporary approach that draws on desistance and good lives models • a very low number of children who are required to register, which we largely see as a vindication of the 'child first' emphasis on diversion that is well established in youth justice

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Depositing User:	RED Unit Admin
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2023 12:18
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2023 12:18
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18825

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