SEX OFFENDERS LIVING IN HACKNEY

More than 100 registered sex offenders are living in Hackney, The Post can reveal. Figures obtained this week show that 106 convicted sex offenders, including rapists and paedophiles, are living in the borough, writes Andrew Wander.

They have completed their sentence and are under constant supervision by police.
But the system monitoring them has been criticised by an official inquiry, which was set up after a man on the list kidnapped a three-year-old girl.

Hackney has one of the highest numbers of resident sex offenders in London. It comes twelfth in the list of boroughs and has more than neighbouring Islington and Tower Hamlets.

Each offender is under constant supervision by Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa), a combined monitoring system with input from the police, probation service, and prison authorities.

Set up six years ago, Mappa monitors sex offenders who have served their sentence but are still considered a risk to the public. A panel of experts have the power to impose a series of conditions on their continued release. These may include banning individuals from socialising with children, possessing a camera, visiting parks or schools and from accessing the internet. If an individual on the scheme breaches their conditions or looks likely to re-offend, officers can send them back to prison.

Of the 3113 sex offenders managed by Mappa across London last year, more than 200 went on to breach the conditions of their release licence, a 35% increase on the year before.

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers has admitted there is “a need for improvements” in the monitoring system.

Last year an inquiry found that a series of failures allowed convicted paedophile Craig Sweeney to kidnap and abuse a three-year-old girl even though he was under the highest level of Mappa supervision.

The Sweeney inquiry found that the paedophile had displayed suspicious behaviour before he carried out the kidnap, including touching a child’s bottom and making inappropriate comments. But he was not recalled to prison and was free to carry out his crime.

It concluded: “Offenders such as Sweeney are by no means uncommon within the Mappa and criminal justice system.”

David Scott, chief officer of London Probation insisted the situation was under control. He said: “The case studies and statistics in this report demonstrate that in London we are successfully managing some very challenging and dangerous offenders.”

Terry Grange, spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Public Protection Office said: “It is impossible to ignore the tragic cases reported on this year, which clearly highlighted the needs for improvements.

“But lessons are being learnt and significant work is being undertaken to improve the consistent delivery of the arrangements and the training of staff undertaking this complex and demanding work.”