Keeping an eye on top offenders

Friday 05 June 2015

Work to ensure that Jersey’s most dangerous offenders are supervised when they’re released from prison appears to be working, with more criminals being monitored and fewer re-offending.

The latest report from the monitoring service – which keeps an eye on violent offenders, sex offenders, and non-criminals thought to pose a potential risk – says that the number of people being watched has gone up 16% to 77, and that 90% of them did not break the law in 2014.

Of the eight that did, one was convicted of rape and received a six-year prison term – a report has been commissioned into whether the people monitoring on him could have done more to stop the rape happening.

The statistics have been released in the annual report by the monitoring agency JMAPPA – which is made up of representatives of the police, probation, customs, prison staff and States departments including Housing, Health, and Education.

Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull, Chairman of JMAPPA, said: “In the few years it has been established the JMAPPA process has been incredibly successful, as shown in the re-offending rates.

“Each subject is managed based on their offending behaviour and risk. This however, is not an infallible science and we continue to give training and advice to all agencies involved in the process.

“In essence the goal for all agencies as part of this partnership is to manage these offenders supporting them within the community but offenders have to take personal responsibility for their behaviour and conduct.”