Lifetime offender management (LOM) team to manage and disrupt high-risk serious organised crime (SOC) offenders

The aim of the initiative is to:

• prevent, restrict and disrupt high-risk serious and organised crime (SOC) offenders from committing further serious offences
• utilise SCPOs as a proactive tool to impose tailored conditions that reduce opportunities for re-engagement in criminal activity
• deliver intelligence-led policing by maintaining direct engagement with offenders and sharing information with the relevant partners
• ensure compliance and accountability through monitoring, educational visits, and the enforcement of SCPO conditions
• promote consistency across force areas by providing governance, guidance, and tasking to local policing teams 

The intended outcomes are to:

• improve the management of high-risk SOC offenders
• improve multi-agency collaboration to ensure effective monitoring, compliance, and intervention throughout the duration of their licence or SCPO
• reduce the number of offences committed by high-risk SOC offenders
• improve the safety of victims 

The lifetime offender management (LOM) initiative was developed to provide a long-term preventative approach to manage offenders’ serious crime threats and disrupt their criminal capabilities. By utilising SCPOs to strengthen this strategy, the purpose of the initiative is to enable police-led management of SOC offenders, rather than relying solely on probation services.

West Yorkshire Police’s SCPO management approach operates through a centrally governed and structured framework overseen by the protective services crime lifetime offender management unit. The LOM initiative is supported by the head of serious and organised crime and delivered by the LOM team.

The team provides expert guidance to officers, districts, and partner agencies, maintaining responsibility for all SCPOs in the West Yorkshire area – including those issued by other forces but managed locally. This centralised approach addresses previous inconsistencies seen when SCPO responsibilities were devolved to district teams. 

LOM initiative

The LOM team review and identify high-risk SOC offenders that would be suitable for the SCPO and guide the application through the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This is to ensure that the SCPO is justified, proportionate, and tailored to the individual's offending. The applications are submitted via the LOM gateway, where they are approved or denied by the CPS. 

Once approved, the team notify and record the offender’s SCPO on:

• Police National Computer (PNC)
• Niche (force management system)
• Violent and Sex Offenders Register (ViSOR)
• Corvus (policing software for managing intelligence, operational tasks and resources, particularly on mobile devices)
• HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)

SCPOs are typically activated upon full release from custody, allowing the full duration of the order to be spent in the community where there is the greatest risk.

Before the activation, the LOM team conduct an education visit to explain the order, confirm the offender understands each condition, and secure a signed acknowledgment. This prevents future disputes about awareness and supports enforceability.

Multi-agency collaboration

SCPO management relies on collaborating with the following partners:

• HMPPS – for information held on prison systems, licence condition planning, temporary release notifications
• Probation Service – for release planning, multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) involvement, licence management, recall discussions
• CPS and courts – for SCPO applications, breach case management, sentencing feedback
• National Crime Agency (NCA), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) – for joint oversight of SCPO subjects

Ongoing management and monitoring

The team provide continuous, direct oversight throughout the lifetime of the order:

• maintain regular contact with subjects by calls, emails, letters, probation appointments, and home visits
• monitor compliance requirements (device notifications, financial reporting, employment details, travel, vehicle use, non‑associations)
• conduct targeted compliance checks and proactive enquiries including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), telecoms, open‑source research, prison intelligence requests, and financial checks
• issue warning letters for lower‑level non‑compliance and escalate to interview, arrest, or CPS file preparation for more serious breaches

The initiative is intelligence led with regular engagement with partners enabling the LOM team to identify patterns, risks, and re engagement in SOC. The team generate and disseminate intelligence to local policing teams, Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCU), partner agencies, and national systems. The intelligence is used to disrupt activities, identify breach opportunities, safeguard communities, and inform operational decision-making.

Local policing teams are responsible for supporting the LOM team by:

• maintaining awareness of SCPO subjects residing in the district
• conducting passing attention, curfew checks, stop checks, and submitting intelligence
• identifying potential breach opportunities to the LOM team for assessment and action
• enabling local disruption opportunities and operational support

The LOM team manage SCPO subjects who enter West Yorkshire from other forces and oversee handovers when subjects relocate outside the area. The team request background files, MG5s (police case summaries), applications, warning letters, and subject profiles to ensure continuity of management.

Breaches are identified through monitoring, intelligence, district reports, or new offending. The LOM team coordinate enforcement by sending out warning letters, arresting and interviewing offenders, and preparing CPS files for the court. Serious breaches may lead to recall to prison and can result in a new SCPO being imposed.

SCPO expiry and closure 

When an SCPO expires, the team:

• conduct final checks with subjects and probation where applicable
• submit final intelligence
• remove system flags and archive ViSOR record
• issue a formal written confirmation of expiry 

The LOM initiative, supported using SCPOs, has improved the long-term management of high-risk of SOC offenders. The initiative has shifted offender oversight from being probation-led to a police-led approach. This has ensured that there is continuous monitoring and disruption of criminal activity beyond imprisonment.

SCPOs have been a preventative tool to restrict offenders’ ability to re-engage in SOC. The approach ensures offenders remain “on radar” through mandatory notifications, compliance checks, and intelligence-led interventions.

Key observations:

• through proactive management, regular contact, and compliance checks this has enabled quicker identification of breaches and emerging threats
• the central governance of the SCPOs ensures a standardised processes, reducing the variation in how districts would and manage SCPO subjects

• Managing SCPOs requires dedicated staff and significant time investment, particularly for monitoring and proactive checks. When competing priorities arise, this area of work can be deprioritised due to limited resources.
• Long-term proactive monitoring of SCPOs is essential, and it has become clear that a central team with overall governance is necessary to provide direction, set standards, and ensure consistency across force areas. This includes tasking local policing teams, issuing guidance, and offering specialist advice. Local teams still play a vital role by maintaining awareness of SCPO subjects in their area, identifying potential breaches, and submitting intelligence.
• An ongoing challenge is the administrative complexity of transferring management when offenders relocate outside the force area. This issue has been raised nationally, and improvements in communication are anticipated.
• An additional area for improvement is the handling of SCPO breaches in court, as there are notable inconsistencies in sentencing outcomes. This highlights the need for clear and consistent sentencing guidelines and has been highlighted at national level.