Worried about publicity during a sexual offence investigation? Your questions answered.

If you are being investigated for online or technology assisted sexual offending, researching possible outcomes will likely lead you to higher levels of anxiety and stress as your mind races to the worst case possibilities. You will almost certainly misunderstand what you read, and you will only feel more overwhelmed than before. Y ou should seek out an experienced criminal solicitor to advocate for you. Although Safer Lives can't offer you this legal assistance, th

For some Safer Lives clients, prison is a distinct possibility or inevitability. This blog gives a brief explanation of what to expect. It is based on director Andy Green's experience of working in Category A, B and C prisons in England. The first 24 hours As you await sentencing in court, the sudden presence of two security guards by your side can signal that you are about to receive a prison sentence. In this case, they will escort you to a holding cell in the bridewell, w

If you have pleaded guilty to sexual offences, you should expect the court to order a Pre-sentence Report ( PSR ) from the Probation Service. The PSR helps the court to decide on a sentence and the balance between punishment and rehabilitation. A well-written report will also consider the need, or otherwise, of a Sexual Harm Prevention Orde r ( SHPO ). In the concluding section of the report, the probation officer should propose a sentence for the court to consider. The prob

By Jenny Greensmith, Co-Director Following arrest for possessing indecent images of children, sexual communication with a child or other online offences, you’re likely to be feeling many emotions, including shame and fear . You're mind is likely racing to many worst case scenarios, and you are probably thinking about the possible outcomes of a court case. We know many people arrested for sexual image and sexual communication offences have not been in trouble with the poli

Today, I want to talk about an invaluable resource that many may find beneficial in a developing their capacity to be a protective parent. The INSIGHT programme is for partners and/or co-parents of individuals arrested for online sexual offending. What is the INSIGHT Program? INSIGHT is a programme developed for people who have experienced The Knock and focuses on empowering parents to navigate the complexities of their children's safety and social services involvement in t

Life on the sex offender register Overview of the Sex Offender Register. For almost all sexual offences, a person who is convicted or cautioned is automatically subject to ‘ Notification Requirements ’, commonly known as the Sex Offenders Register . This means that they have to register personal details at a designated local police station. These details are then added to a database called the Violent and Sex Offenders Register (ViSOR). Although Notification Requirements (‘

By Steve Davies, Senior Practitioner, Safer Lives Internet pornography addiction (porn addiction) is now a feature of the 21st Century https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/porn-addiction . The World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) now have a classification for compulsive sexual behaviour https://www.who.int/health-topics/sexual-health#tab=tab_1 . At Safer Lives we repeatedly hear men talking to us about how their ‘porn addiction’ led to their first viewing of CSAM. How c

The internet has become an integral part of our daily lives, connecting us to people and information from all over the world. However,...

It is normal for children and young people to be curious about their bodies and sexuality. However, some children and young people may engage in harmful sexual behaviour that can hurt themselves and others. Harmful sexual behaviour can range from inappropriate sexual comments or jokes to sexual touching, looking at indecent images of children online, coercive sexual behaviour, or sexual abuse. What is Harmful Sexual Behaviour? Harmful sexual behaviour is any sexual activity b

Pre-sentence report interview A pre-sentence report (PSR) is an assessment of the factors that may have contributed to your behaviour, any risk you pose to others, what that risk is of, and to who. The report will provide the court with a greater understanding of the background and the context of the offending behaviour, rather than just the details of the offence. For the Court to impose an appropriate and effective sentence, there needs to be an adequate amount of informati

As a Probation Officer I dealt with some pretty challenging behaviours, including murders and sexual offences. I worked in several prisons, including Wakefield's high security prison that houses people who have committed some of the most distressing and notorious offences. I was known for working with the resettlement back into society of life sentence prisoners, including serious sexual offenders. Yet, the most personally harrowing and difficult thing I ever had to do as a P

Did you ever look up words in the dictionary that were about sex? I did. I remember not fully understanding what a condom was when I was...