Home Secretary appoints former Chief Constable to conduct independent review into police management of registered sex offenders in the community

Today (02 March) the Home Secretary Priti Patel has appointed Mick Creedon, Former Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary, to undertake the independent review into police management of registered sex offenders in the community, which was a promise set out in the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (2021). Mr Creedon has over 37 years’ experience in policing, counter-terrorism and security, and will be taking up the post imminently.

The review will consider the consistency of the management of registered sex offenders across England and Wales, and whether the current capabilities to manage them are fit for purpose. It will specifically look at how consistently the police use their capabilities to manage the risk posed by registered sex offenders and whether the regime protecting the public from them could be strengthened further.

The review, which is independent of government, will consider evidence in relation to factors including (but not limited to):

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:   

“The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders and we are committed to ensuring that the system is as robust as it can be. 

“Mick brings a wealth of policing and criminal justice expertise to this role and I am delighted he has agreed to chair the review.”

On taking on this role as the independent reviewer, Mick Creedon said:

“I’m really pleased to be offered the opportunity to lead this review on behalf of the Home Secretary. The question of how the police best manage offenders released from custody but rightly subject to restrictions is a complicated one. The public deserve protection, and at the same time the demands on the police service continue to grow. I intend to gather as many views as possible, to work with those leading and involved in this work, and will seek to provide a fully independent review and realistic proposals to ensure the longstanding MAPPA arrangements provide the best protection for the public, and the effective monitoring and management of offenders living in the community.”

The review will be undertaken in line with the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy (2021) which aims to prevent, tackle and respond to all forms of child sexual abuse, while also building on the findings of the Government’s end-to-end review into the criminal justice response to rape (2021). It will commence imminently and will aim to report back to the Home Secretary, Safeguarding Minister and Crime and Policing Minister by the end of this year.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• Public protection is a priority for this Government and the notification requirements for registered sex offenders form an invaluable tool in the management of offenders within the community.
• We are further strengthening the regime for managing registered sex offenders and those who pose a risk of sexual harm through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
• We will continue to work with the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that the right powers are available for the authorities to tackle sexual crimes and to bring perpetrators to justice.
• Registered sex offenders are managed by the police in the community. Local police are in the best position to identify the risk posed by individuals. Tough checks and a range of legislative measures are available to the police to manage known sex offenders living in the community.
• The Government published the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy in January 2021, the first of its kind, setting out our long-term ambition to tackle all forms of child sexual abuse, whether it takes place online or in families, institutions or communities, here in this country or overseas.
• The Strategy outlines our whole system approach to drive action across every part of Government, across all agencies, all sectors, charities, communities, technology companies and society to tackle child sexual abuse, to root out and prevent offending and help victims and survivors to rebuild their lives.