Sex Offender Management Unit discharge area for improvement, a year on from PEEL inspection

Our Sex Offender Management Unit (SOMU) has continued to demonstrate consistent positive progress in how they manage registered sex offenders in the community, by discharging the area for improvement listed in last year’s PEEL Inspection.

In December 2023, following a comprehensive inspection in July 2023, we were told by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) that we needed to review how we monitor our requirement to visit registered sex offenders to make sure we are quickly managing risk.

Through the dedication of all our officers and staff working in the unit, who have completed over 9,700 compliance visits in the last 12 months (November 2023 – October 2024), and the introduction of refreshed, robust governance processes, we are confident that the communities of Greater Manchester are safer. This has been recognised by HMIC and our area for improvement now discharged.

Also newly recognised is a piece of innovative practice, which involves the introduction of a digitised, much slicker way to complete the Sex Offender Registration process. Our processes now mean Offender Managers receive live-time updates on changes to addresses or associations subjects may have to children, improving overall effectiveness of offender management, expedited arrests, and improved outcomes. This allows for more effective safeguarding actions to be put in place too, reducing the risk to our communities.

This process has already seen several registered sex offenders swiftly arrested, charged, and put before the courts, and vulnerable people safeguarded.

In the last 12 months, our SOMU team have also made 351 arrests (compared with 249 in the previous 12 months, an over 40% increase) and solved over 860 crimes. Our solved outcome rate has increased by 12% compared with last year.

The offender manager team has grown to 80 people this year, boosted by the now permanent Sex Offender Crime Investigation Team (SOCIT) and its own Intelligence Hub function. Having these other teams as part of our wider SOMU unit means that workload is shared amongst a greater number of people, meaning more compliance visits, more arrests and most importantly, more victims supported and safeguarded from harm.

This multi-team approach is unique to GMP and has already proven a major success, with the SOCIT team having the highest positive outcome rate of any team in the force. You can read more about that here: Dedicated team for solving sex offender crime helping to bring more suspects to justice and protect more victims | Greater Manchester Police

Detective Chief Inspector Jen Tattersall, who heads up SOMU, said, “We understand how important it is that we get the management of sex offenders right. The improvements that we have made are a significant step forward from where we were, and it’s great to be recognised for our progress by HMIC, but we will not become complacent.

“Protecting vulnerable people remains our biggest priority, and the officers and staff working within SOMU do not take that responsibility lightly.

“I want registered sex offenders who are intent on reoffending to know that Greater Manchester is not a place they will get away with that in.”

Support Available

If you or someone you know has been a victim of rape or sexual assault, we encourage you not to suffer in silence and report it to the police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.

You can also report information and crimes on our website (www.gmp.police.uk).

Alternatively, you can report information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

There are also lots of organisations and support agencies available across Greater Manchester and nationally that can help and provide support for you.

For more information and to find the support services available to you, please visit our support pages.

Support for Rape and Sexual Assault:

St. Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre - Manchester provides a comprehensive and co-ordinated response to men, women and children who live or have been sexually assaulted within Greater Manchester. They offer forensic medical examinations, practical and emotional support as well as a counselling service for all ages. Services are available on a 24-hour basis and can be accessed by calling 0161 276 6515.

Greater Manchester Rape Crisis is a confidential information, support and counselling service run by women for women over 18 who have been raped or sexually abused at any time in their lives. Call on 0161 273 4500 or email [email protected]

Survivors Manchester provides specialist trauma informed support to male victims in Greater Manchester who have experienced sexual abuse, rape or sexual exploitation. Call 0161 236 2182.