NEWS: Sexual Offences Prevention Orders

By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
18 January 2010

MORE perverts deemed to be at risk of reoffending are being monitored in the Lothians than anywhere else in Scotland, it emerged today.

New figures show that more than a quarter of sexual offence prevention orders (SOPOs) handed out across the country last year were in the Lothians.

The strict orders - which are given to those convicted of a sex offence or a serious offence with a sexual element - impose restrictions on where a person can live and can even restrict access to the internet.

Police today insisted the high number of orders reflected their "proactive" approach and did not suggest a higher number of offenders.

Lothians MSP Robin Harper, who uncovered the figures in a question to justice minister Kenny MacAskill, said the high number of SOPO applications was an indication of Lothian and Border Police's "diligence" in using the latest legislation to crack down on sex offences in the city.

He said: "It shows that police and the courts are doing their jobs."

Last year 39 such orders were handed out across Scotland, of which 11 were in the Lothians.

A total of 37 SOPOs have been given out in the Lothians in the last five years.

This compares to just 18 in Strathclyde, Scotland's largest force.

However, the number of SOPOs handed out by each force appears disproportionate to the number of registered sex offenders (RSOs) living in the respective areas.

The current number of RSOs in the Lothians is 678, more than half the 1,425 being monitored in Strathclyde.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitken, a Glasgow MSP, said: "Clearly there is a discrepancy in terms of the respective populations of the number of registered sex offenders in the force area, compared to the number of SOPOs applied for.

"Perhaps Lothian and Borders Police are applying different criteria when applying for SOPOs compared with other forces."

The first man to be given a SOPO in Edinburgh was paedophile Richard Duff, a self- confessed risk to children who was later jailed twice for breaching the terms of his SOPO forbidding him from going near schools, playparks or childcare centres.

He was arrested for the second time lurking in a park during a police surveillance operation in 2005, giving an indication of the level of scrutiny placed upon these heavily restricted offenders.

Police refused to reveal the techniques they use to ensure offenders comply with SOPO restrictions, but said the responsibility for monitoring them would fall to their offender management team and uniformed officers. Breach of a SOPO is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Lothian and Borders Police gave an assurance that it had the resources to handle the increased surveillance such offenders require. A force spokesman said: "sexual offences prevention orders are issued to monitor offenders where there is a perceived risk of reoffending and places restrictions on their behaviour. The number of SOPOs applied for and subsequently granted within theforce area highlights a shared view by police and partner agencies of the importance of maintaining public safety.

"Prevention orders are one tool we use in our monitoring of sex offenders and we will continue to use all resources at our disposal to ensure the safety of the communities we serve."

PERVERTS ON THE ROLL CALL OF SHAME

A NUMBER of high-profile sex offenders have been hit with sexual offence prevention orders (SOPOs) in Lothian.

Last month, convicted rapist Keith Martin, 44, faced jail for breaching his SOPO by forming a relationship with a girl aged about five.

Shamed weightlifting champion Alan Ogilvie (pictured right), 41, was jailed for three years in November last year for tricking young boys into taking part in internet "cyber-sex" sessions from his Edinburgh home and breaking his SOPO.

Ex-soldier Douglas McNaught, 61, was moved by police from his Prestonfield Avenue home last September after being hounded by a vigilante group. McNaught, the subject of a SOPO, was jailed in 1993 after admitting lewd behaviour towards a girl.

In August last year, sex attacker John Bermingham (pictured left), 43, was granted legal aid to challenge a ban on travelling by bus. Bermingham was given a SOPO at the end of a nine-year prison sentence for attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl.

Paedophile Richard Duff, 33, was jailed in May 2008 for breaching a SOPO banning him from playgrounds and parks for a third time. In 2004, he had been the first person in the Lothians to be handed a SOPO.

Convicted sex offender Andrew McGinlay, was jailed for two years in December 2007 after allowing two four-year-olds into his Leith home. It breached his SOPO, which banned him from contact with children.