Approved Premises

Last updated

In the United Kingdom, Approved Premises (AP), formerly known as probation or bail hostels, are residential units which house ex-offenders in the community. They are recognised under the Offender Management Act 2007. There are one hundred such hostels in England and Wales, and a further six in Northern Ireland. Fourteen of the APs in England and Wales were banned from housing child sex offenders in 2006 following a media campaign, which has led to some criticism.

Contents

Description

Formerly known as either probation or bail hostels, the properties became known as Approved Premises once recognised under section 13 of the Offender Management Act 2007. [1] They are still commonly called bail hostels in the media, [2] although they house few offenders actually on bail with the majority of residents made up of those on release from prison on licence. [3] There are one hundred Approved Premises in England and Wales, providing over two thousand residential bed spaces for offenders in the community, [1] with a normal hostel holding between twelve and thirty offenders. [4] They are run by either voluntary organisations or the National Probation Service, [1] and may house high risk offenders. [5] In 2006, fourteen of the hundred hostels were banned by the Ministry of Justice from housing child sex offenders after a media campaign due to those hostels' proximity to schools and nurseries. [6] This has shown to have had an effect on housing such offenders, and in some cases they have been released without proper supervision, [6] and in one case led to a child sex offender being housed temporarily in a Premier Inn hotel. [7] In addition, the clustering of APs in certain areas have led to them being blamed for the increasing numbers of registered sex offenders in the surrounding areas. [8]

While staff provide support to the offenders and run programmes to address offending issues, [3] they do not conduct searches of individual offenders and will use local police assistance as necessary. A staff to resident ratio of one to five is typical, with most staff made up of trained professionals, while night time staff may be from private security firms. [3]

Approved Premises are also run in Northern Ireland, which had six APs as of 2008. [9] A report looked into the APs in Northern Ireland during 2008, and reported on their uneven distribution throughout the region and the volume of work conducted by staff. All of the Northern Irish APs are run by voluntary or community providers. [9]

Reception and controversy

There can be opposition to locating an Approved Premises in a community, with certain communities mounting protests against them. [10] A particularly long running campaign has been run against an AP in Stonall Road, Aldridge by the local residents. [11] Local media in that case have highlighted when high-profile offenders, including child sex offenders, have been resident. [2] Reports have shown that local opposition is a major obstacle to opening APs in new locations, [6] and although expansion schemes have been announced in the past, [4] the current number of hostels has remained relatively stable in the last five years. [1] [3] Official spokespersons have said that "Approved Premises are safer for the public than the alternative which is to disperse such offenders in the local community immediately after release, making supervision much less effective." [10]

BBC documentary Panorama investigated the Brigstocke Road and Ashley Road hostels in Bristol during November 2006. [12] The program showed a child sex offender interacting with children, and even bringing one into his room at the hostel. Brigstocke Road was identified as a property near to a nursery and became one of the properties which later had a ban on it housing child sex offenders. Ashley House was unaffected. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House arrest</span> Confinement of a person to their residence by law enforcement authorities

In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all. House arrest is an alternative to being in a prison while awaiting trial or after sentencing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Smith</span> British politician and sex offender (1928–2010)

Sir Cyril Richard Smith was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. After his death, numerous allegations of child sexual abuse by Smith emerged, leading law enforcement officials to believe he had been guilty of sex offences.

Chemical castration is castration via anaphrodisiac drugs, whether to reduce libido and sexual activity, to treat cancer, or otherwise. Unlike surgical castration, where the gonads are removed through an incision in the body, chemical castration does not remove organs, nor is it a form of sterilization. Chemical castration is generally reversible when treatment is discontinued, although permanent effects in body chemistry can sometimes be seen, as in the case of bone density loss increasing with length of use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Probation Service</span> Criminal justice service in England and Wales

The Probation Service for England and Wales is a statutory criminal justice service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal courts to assist them in their sentencing duties. It was established in its current form by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act in April 2001, but has existed since 1907 as a set of area-based services interacting at arm's length with central government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halfway house</span> Institution that allows people to re-integrate into society

A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves.

Thomas Victor O'Carroll is a British writer and pro-paedophile advocate, imprisoned for distribution of child pornography. O'Carroll is a former chairman of the now disbanded Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) and was at one time a prominent member of the International Paedophile and Child Emancipation.

In the jurisdiction of England and Wales, a Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement (MAPPA) is an arrangement, set up in 2001, for the "responsible authorities" tasked with the management of registered sex offenders, violent and other types of sexual offenders, and offenders who pose a serious risk of harm to the public. The "responsible authorities" of the MAPPA include the National Probation Service, HM Prison Service and England and Wales Police Forces. MAPPA is coordinated and supported nationally by the Public Protection Unit within the National Offender Management Service. MAPPA was introduced by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and was strengthened under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

The Kincora Boys' Home was a boys' home in Belfast, Northern Ireland that was the scene of serious organised child sexual abuse, causing a scandal and attempted cover-up in 1980, with allegations of state collusion. The Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) began examining allegations relating to the Home on 31 May 2016, including claims that there was a paedophile ring at the home with links to the intelligence services; Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said that all state agencies would co-operate with the inquiry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Hampshire Department of Corrections</span> Government agency in the U.S. state of New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Department of Corrections is an executive agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire; charged with overseeing the state correctional facilities, supervising probation and parolees, and serving in an advisory capacity in the prevention of crime and delinquency. As of June 30, 2013, the Department had an inmate population of 2,791, 15,267 on probation or parole, and 893 total employees, 470 as corrections officers and 64 as probation/parole officers. The agency has its headquarters in Concord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-pedophile activism</span> Form of activism

Anti-pedophile activism encompasses opposition to pedophiles, pedophile advocacy groups, child pornography, and child sexual abuse. Much of the direct action classified as "anti-pedophile" involves demonstrations against sex offenders, against groups advocating age of consent reform, legalization of sexual activity between adults and children, and against Internet users who solicit sex from underage children and teenagers.

Christopher Paul Neil, also known as Mr. Swirl, Swirl Face, or Vico, is a Canadian convicted child molester. He was the subject of a highly publicized Interpol investigation of the sexual abuse of at least 12 young boys in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, primarily owing to the Internet release of pornographic images depicting the abuse. He was arrested by Thai police in October 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haut de la Garenne</span> Building in Saint Martin, Jersey, in the Channel Islands

The Jersey Accommodation and Activity Centre is a building just north of Gorey in the parish of Saint Martin, Jersey, in the Channel Islands. It was formerly known as the Industrial School, the Jersey Home for Boys, and Haut de la Garenne. Its previous uses have included being an industrial school, a children's home, a military signal station, a television filming location, and a youth hostel. In 2008 it became the focus of the largest investigation into child abuse ever conducted in Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Glitter</span> English musician and child sex offender (born 1944)

Paul Francis Gadd, known professionally as Gary Glitter, is an English former glam rock singer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was imprisoned for downloading child pornography in 1999, and was subsequently convicted of child sexual abuse and attempted rape, in 2006 and 2015, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kesgrave Hall School</span> Boarding school in Ipswich, Suffolk, England

Kesgrave Hall School was a private boys' boarding school in Kesgrave, England, catering for pupils with high academic potential who were unable to flourish in mainstream schools.

Child pornography is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a child or it may be simulated child pornography. Abuse of the child occurs during the sexual acts or lascivious exhibitions of genitals or pubic areas which are recorded in the production of child pornography. Child pornography may use a variety of mediums, including writings, magazines, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, video, and video games. Child pornography may be created for profit or other reasons.

The 2009 Plymouth child abuse case was a child abuse and paedophile ring involving at least five adults from different parts of England. The case centred on photographs taken of up to 64 children by Vanessa George, a nursery worker in Plymouth. It highlighted the issue of child molestation by women, as all but one of the members of the ring were female.

Lancashire Probation Trust is a criminal justice agency responsible for punishing and rehabilitating offenders in Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom</span> Overview about child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom

Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom has been reported in the country throughout its history. In about 90% of cases the abuser is a person known to the child. However, cases during the second half of the twentieth century, involving religious institutions, schools, popular entertainers, politicians, military personnel, and other officials, have been revealed and widely publicised since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Child sexual abuse rings in numerous towns and cities across the UK have also drawn considerable attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Huckle</span> British convicted sex offender

Richard William Huckle was a convicted English serial child sex offender. He was arrested by Britain's National Crime Agency in 2014 after a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police and convicted in 2016 of 71 charges of sexual offences against children committed while he posed as a Christian teacher, and a freelance photographer in Malaysia.

Joseph McCann is an English-born Scottish–Irish serial rapist. In April and May 2019, McCann committed sexual attacks in Hertfordshire, London, Greater Manchester and Cheshire against 11 strangers, ranging in age from an 11-year-old boy to a 71-year-old woman. He evaded police, who suspect that he was sheltered by a "support network" across the country. For these crimes, he was tried at the Old Bailey and, on 6 December, convicted of 37 offences. Three days later, he was given 33 life sentences.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Approved Premises". National Approved Premises Association. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 Henwood, Chris (9 June 2011). "Grooming suspect placed in controversial Aldrdge bail hostel near child". Birmingham Mail.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Q&A: Bail hostels". BBC News. 7 November 2006.
  4. 1 2 "Super-Hostels Plan for Violent and Sexual Offenders". Daily Mirror. 25 April 2006.
  5. ↑ "Raymond Horne: What happens next?". BBC News. 20 March 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 "Paedophile hostel ban criticised". BBC News. 28 March 2008.
  7. ↑ Sapsted, David (1 July 2006). "Paedophile is moved from jail to family hotel". The Telegraph.
  8. ↑ Henfield, Sally (21 October 2008). "10 per cent rise in sex offenders in East Lancashire". Burnley Citizen.
  9. 1 2 "Hostels Make 'Significant Contribution' But Staff Still Pressurised". 4NI.co.uk. 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  10. 1 2 Thandi, Gurdip (11 September 2008). "Protest at Stonnall bail hostel". Birmingham Mail.
  11. ↑ "After decades of opposition, Aldridge bail hostel set to be moved". Express & Star. 30 May 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Hostel Stops Housing Paedophiles". BBC News. 9 January 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.