Approved Premises
Encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom, Approved Premises (AP), formerly known as probation or bail hostels, are residential units which house offenders in the community. They are recognised under the Offender Management Act 2007
, and can provoke a hostile reception in the communities in which they are located. There are one hundred such hostels in England and Wales, and a further six in Northern Ireland. Fourteen of the APs in England and Wales were banned from housing child sex offenders in 2006 following a media campaign, which has led to some criticism.
s, the properties became known as Approved Premises once recognised under section 13 of the Offender Management Act 2007
. They are still commonly called bail hostels in the media, although they house few offenders actually on bail
with the majority of residents made up of those on release from prison on licence. There are one hundred Approved Premises in England and Wales, providing over two thousand residential bed spaces for offenders in the community, with a normal hostel holding between twelve to thirty offenders. They are run by either voluntary organisations or the National Probation Service, and may house high risk offenders. In 2006, fourteen of the hundred hostels were banned by the Ministry of Justice
from housing child sex offenders after a media campaign due to those hostels' proximity to schools and nurseries. This has shown to have had an effect on housing such offenders, and in some cases they have been released without proper supervision, and in one case led to a child sex offender being housed temporarily in a Premier Inn hotel. In addition, the clustering of APs in certain areas have led to them being blamed for the increasing numbers of registered sex offenders in the surrounding areas.
While staff provide support to the offenders and run programmes to address offending issues, they do not conduct searches of individual offenders and will use local police assistance as necessary. A staff to resident ratio of one to five is typical, with most staff made up of trained professionals, while night time staff may be from private security firms.
Approved Premises are also run in Northern Ireland, which had six APs as of 2008. A report looked into the APs in Northern Ireland during 2008, and reported on their uneven distribution throughout the region and the volume of work conducted by staff. All of the Northern Irish APs are run by voluntary or community providers.
by the local residents. Local media in that case have highlighted when high profile offenders, including child sex offenders, have been resident. Reports have shown that local opposition is a major obstacle to opening APs in new locations, and although expansion schemes have been announced in the past, the current number of hostels has remained relatively stable in the last five years. Official spokespersons have said that "Approved Premises are safer for the public than the alternative which is to disperse such offenders in the local community immediately after release, making supervision much less effective."
BBC
documentary Panorama
investigated the Brigstocke Road and Ashley Road hostels in Bristol
during November 2006. The program showed a child sex offender interacting with children, and even bringing one into his room at the hostel. Brigstocke Road was identified as a property near to a nursery and became one of the properties which later had a ban on it housing child sex offenders. Ashley House was unaffected.
Offender Management Act 2007
The Offender Management Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Section 41 - Commencement:Orders made under this section:* * * * * The Offender Management Act 2007 (c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Section 41 - Commencement:Orders made under this...
, and can provoke a hostile reception in the communities in which they are located. There are one hundred such hostels in England and Wales, and a further six in Northern Ireland. Fourteen of the APs in England and Wales were banned from housing child sex offenders in 2006 following a media campaign, which has led to some criticism.
Description
Formerly known as either probation or bail hostelHostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
s, the properties became known as Approved Premises once recognised under section 13 of the Offender Management Act 2007
Offender Management Act 2007
The Offender Management Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Section 41 - Commencement:Orders made under this section:* * * * * The Offender Management Act 2007 (c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Section 41 - Commencement:Orders made under this...
. They are still commonly called bail hostels in the media, although they house few offenders actually on bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
with the majority of residents made up of those on release from prison on licence. There are one hundred Approved Premises in England and Wales, providing over two thousand residential bed spaces for offenders in the community, with a normal hostel holding between twelve to thirty offenders. They are run by either voluntary organisations or the National Probation Service, and may house high risk offenders. In 2006, fourteen of the hundred hostels were banned by the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
from housing child sex offenders after a media campaign due to those hostels' proximity to schools and nurseries. This has shown to have had an effect on housing such offenders, and in some cases they have been released without proper supervision, and in one case led to a child sex offender being housed temporarily in a Premier Inn hotel. In addition, the clustering of APs in certain areas have led to them being blamed for the increasing numbers of registered sex offenders in the surrounding areas.
While staff provide support to the offenders and run programmes to address offending issues, they do not conduct searches of individual offenders and will use local police assistance as necessary. A staff to resident ratio of one to five is typical, with most staff made up of trained professionals, while night time staff may be from private security firms.
Approved Premises are also run in Northern Ireland, which had six APs as of 2008. A report looked into the APs in Northern Ireland during 2008, and reported on their uneven distribution throughout the region and the volume of work conducted by staff. All of the Northern Irish APs are run by voluntary or community providers.
Reception and controversy
There can be opposition to locating an Approved Premises in a community, with certain communities mounting protests against them. A particularly long running campaign has been run against an AP in Stonall Road, AldridgeAldridge
Aldridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England. Historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire, but in 1974 it was incorporated into the Walsall borough as well as the West Midlands county.- History :...
by the local residents. Local media in that case have highlighted when high profile offenders, including child sex offenders, have been resident. Reports have shown that local opposition is a major obstacle to opening APs in new locations, and although expansion schemes have been announced in the past, the current number of hostels has remained relatively stable in the last five years. Official spokespersons have said that "Approved Premises are safer for the public than the alternative which is to disperse such offenders in the local community immediately after release, making supervision much less effective."
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
investigated the Brigstocke Road and Ashley Road hostels in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
during November 2006. The program showed a child sex offender interacting with children, and even bringing one into his room at the hostel. Brigstocke Road was identified as a property near to a nursery and became one of the properties which later had a ban on it housing child sex offenders. Ashley House was unaffected.