Care Inspectorate issues Serious Incident Review report

The Care Inspectorate has published a report detailing over 100 serious incidents involving offenders on license or under statutory supervision between June 2013 and January 2015.

The new report on Criminal Justice Social Work Serious Incident Reviews examines whether local authority criminal justice social work services are adequately carrying out serious incident reviews where offenders on license or supervision are involved, as directed by statutory guidance.

It highlights areas of successful good practice across Scotland, but also makes recommendations where further improvements should be made.

The report hails local authorities for an improvement in compliance with reporting arrangements and serious incident review guidance, allowing councils to identify where improvements can be made and put actions in place.

However, it also urges councils to notify the Care Inspectorate more quickly when an offender on supervision or licence is charged with carrying out a criminal offence which results in death or serious harm to someone else.

Councils notified the Care Inspectorate within five days in only 36 per cent of serious incidents, according to the report.

The report also highlights the importance of robust risk assessments for offenders as well as the need for strong partnership working and good communication to keep people safe, address offending behaviour and support offenders’ needs.

Karen Reid, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate said: “Where an offender is on licence or some form of supervision, there is – rightly – intense public interest in how they are supervised.

“Effective community justice social work can and should prevent re-offending and support offenders to live a life free from crime. When things do go wrong, it is essential that the right lessons are learnt by people across Scotland.

“Our independent scrutiny of serious incidents and how they were handled is essential to driving up quality and improving public protection.

“If a serious incident occurs, it is always important to consider whether things might have been done better or differently. We are today making a number of recommendations for local authorities.

“While there is some excellent practice, there needs to be more robust risk assessment and planning when prisoners are preparing for release.

“We previously found under-reporting of serious incidents. It is critical that serious incidents are reported and reviewed properly and that all criminal justice staff understand and follow the procedures to make sure our communities are as safe as they can be.”