A focus group study with officers who risk assess adult male registered sex offenders (MOSOVO)
| Lead institution | |
|---|---|
| Principal researcher(s) |
Dr Leona Mydlowski (University of Central Lancashire) and Dr Rhys Turner-Moore (Leeds Beckett University)
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| Police region |
North West
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| Collaboration and partnership |
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| Level of research |
Professional/work based
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| Project start date |
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| Date due for completion |
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Research context
This research examines the views of police officers who are statutorily responsible under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for risk assessing and managing registered sex offenders.
These specialist officers are known as Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO). This study explores a sample of MOSOVOs' views from three different forces in regards to training, the home visit and risk assessment process to enable MOSOVO to carry out their role. This work also focuses on whether MOSOVO can promote desistance in their role and recommendations for improvement to future practice.
Research methodology
This is a focus group study with three forces in different geographical areas to understand their views of how MOSOVO are trained to carry out their role and their views regarding the home visit, risk assessment and risk management process. Nine focus groups were carried out in total with between 6–8 MOSOVO in each focus group (n=62).
Three focus groups were carried out at each force for each risk level – low, medium and high risk, with an equal balance between gender. The focus groups were then transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braune & Clarke's thematic analysis (2019), where five themes were developed.