Are you on the Sex Offenders Register?
Do you want that to change?
The Sex Offenders Register is a bit of a misnomer really – there isn’t an actual register and the phrase refers to notification requirements imposed on some offenders convicted of sexual offences. Over 50,000 individuals are currently subject to notification requirements.
The duration of the notification obligation depends on the sentencing disposal and the age of the offender. These are the relevant periods:
|
Your Sentence |
Registration period (18 or over upon conviction) |
Registration period (Under 18) |
|
Imprisonment for 30 months or more |
Indefinitely |
Indefinitely |
|
A hospital order subject to a restriction order (section 37/41) |
Indefinitely |
Indefinitely |
|
More than 6 months but less than 30 months |
10 years
|
5 years
|
|
6 months or less |
7 years |
3 ½ years |
|
A hospital order without a restriction order (section 37) |
7 years
|
3 ½ years
|
|
A conditional discharge |
The duration of the conditional discharge |
The duration of the conditional discharge |
|
A caution |
2 years |
1 year |
|
Any other disposal (e.g. fine or community order) |
5 years |
2 ½ years
|
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 made anybody sentenced to more than 30 months in prison subject to indefinite notification requirements, without any opportunities for review. However, in 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that under human rights laws, individuals should have the opportunity to prove that they are reformed and changes were made to allow individuals to seek a review after 15 years (8 years if you were a Juvenile at the time of conviction).
If you are subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, you will not be eligible to apply for review.
If you are subject to notification requirements for a fixed term, this cannot be reduced.
How do I go about requesting a review?
Initially, there is an application to the police
When making a decision about whether you should remain on the register, the police will consider:
- The nature and seriousness of your offence
- The length of time that has elapsed since your offence
- Your age at the time of the offence and the age of your victim(s)
- Whether you have complied with your notification requirements
- Any other sexual offences you may have committed
- Any other evidence of risk of sexual harm
- Any assessment of risk made by any Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) agency
If the application is refused, you can then appeal to a magistrates’ court.
Is there any point, surely the police refuse all applications?
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request undertaken by BBC News earlier this year, showed that around 50% of applications were successful at the police stage. So yes, it is worth considering.
The likelihood of success does vary between forces and if your appeal fails, you will not be eligible to apply for a further review for another eight years. It is therefore vital that you make sure that the application is as strong as it can possibly be to start with!
If you are considering making an application against continued Notification Requirements then give Forrest Williams a call on 01623 397200, our team of experts will be happy to help.
