Sex offenders could be supervised by 'under-qualified' officers

Sex offenders could be supervised by 'under-qualified' probation officers under a new shake-up, whistleblowers fear.

Offenders such as disgraced former BBC presenter Huw Edwards - who have accessed or in other cases supplied child abuse images - could be rehabilitated under a treatment programme which is subject to change.

If the court is not satisfied by Edwards's private treatment by a psychosexual therapist, he will be placed on one of the so-called iHorizon schemes as part of his suspended two-year sentence.

And rather than being led by specialist fully qualified 'band four' probation officers, who are paid up to £10,000 or more, the courses will be run by less qualified staff under the changes, the whistleblowers say.

It means that the more senior officers are either switching to other equivalent jobs elsewhere in the service, quitting the profession or doing work at the band three level.

One whistleblower told the Telegraph: 'It has been downgraded and the course is starting to be delivered by facilitators, who earn around £29,000, £10,000 less than probation officers. Facilitators are on band three and don't have to have had probation experience.'

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According to one probation officer, a facilitator was recruited from an outside probation and had no idea she would have to deliver a course for sex offenders, having thought it would be for other types of offenders.

There were also delays getting offenders onto courses, the whistleblowers say, with some waiting 'months or even a year'.

The iHorizon courses run over the course of six months and consist of 25 to 28 sessions.

After three one-to-one session , offenders will take part in group sessions of eight to 10.

All attendees - which may include ex-prisoners on licence as well as people doing community sentences or suspended sentences- will have sent, received or downloaded indecent images.

They range from age 20 to 70 and can include 'high-risk' offenders.

Across seven modules, the iHorizon courses look at an offender's offences and what was going on in their lives.

They examine a 'success wheel' with five domains: positive relationships, healthy thinking, healthy sexual interests, managing life's problems and sense of purpose.

Offenders do not have to disclose what their offence is, although some do, and those who deny their offending are still required to do the course.

Offenders are allowed to miss three sessions but if they miss a fourth, even for illness, they have to start again from the beginning.

After confirming the restructuring, the Ministry of Justice said staff had been offered three years of pay protection if they stayed in their existing roles.

They could also choose to be redeployed to a different probation role at their previous band.

A probation service spokesman said: 'Sex offenders are supervised by qualified probation officers and the Horizon behaviour change programme they undertake is delivered by appropriately trained staff.

'The changes have ensured these programmes are delivered consistently across the country to reduce the risk of reoffending.'