Sexual risk orders secured by Nottinghamshire Police to protect public from harm
Civil orders have been and continue to be secured by police in bid to clamp down on violence against women and girls.
Nottinghamshire Police safeguarding officers have successfully secured a number of sexual risk orders against men considered to pose a potential risk to women and young girls.
Sexual risk orders are civil orders that impose restrictions on the behaviour of a particular person that a court deems necessary for the purposes of protecting the public from risk of sexual harm.
An order can be applied to any person who the police feel poses a risk of sexual harm to the public, even if the individual has not been convicted of a sexual offence.
Restrictions on their activities can include preventing child contact, limiting internet use, and enforcing individuals to tell police about intimate relationships.
Nottinghamshire Police currently has 29 sexual risk orders in force across the city and county, and the individuals’ sexual risk is managed by specialist officers.
If an individual breaches a sexual risk order they face a prison sentence of up to five years.
Sexual risk orders are used in addition to a range of other tools, such as sexual harm prevention orders and domestic violence prevention orders, to protect people from harm and reduce potential risk.
Detective Inspector Abi Goucher is the safeguarding and harm reduction lead for Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub — a collaboration between force departments responsible for developing strategies to prevent crime and disorder throughout the city and county.
She said: “Violence against women and girls is a strategic priority for Nottinghamshire Police. As a force we take a zero-tolerance approach to any incident reported to us.
“We are committed to doing all that we can to protect anyone at risk of sexual harm and we will use all of the tools available to us to help achieve our goal.
“I want to reassure people we remain committed to doing everything we can to protect women and girls, catching those responsible and holding offenders to account.
“Sexual risk orders are a really positive and powerful tool we can use in terms of prevention and protecting the public, helping us to manage individuals considered to pose a potential risk.
“We have dedicated safeguarding civil orders officers who are tasked with exploring options available to us to manage and reduce any further risk.
"These orders offer safeguarding and protection to members of the public as well as ensuring that there are consequences for those individuals who breach their conditions.”
