Public at risk from ex-prisoners, says report

LONDON, Sep 8 (Reuters) The public have been put at risk by the way the police, prison and probation services deal with criminals released from jail, a report by three justice watchdogs said today.

The report, which was commissioned after a string of high-profile crimes committed by prisoners freed early on parole, said that in almost 40 percent of cases, the risk posed by offenders had not been properly analysed when they left prison.

It said that although improvements had been made in the service, greater cooperation was needed between the police, prisons and probation services.

''In a fifth of cases of prisoners just starting their sentence, and just over a third of those prisoners about to be released, we found little evidence of positive, proactive and timely work between prisons, probation and police,'' it said.

''In 39 percent of cases, a Risk of Harm screening had not been completed at the start of a licence.'' The report was written by prisons watchdog Anne Owers, Andrew Bridges, the chief inspector of probation and Ronnie Flanagan, the chief inspector of constabulary.

It said prison and probation staff needed to give more attention to preparing offenders for release and to assessing prisoners for their likelihood of reoffending.

''While it will never be possible to eliminate risk when an offender is being managed in the community, it is right to expect the work to be done to a consistently high standard,'' the report said.

The prison and probation service in Britain came under intense scrutiny earlier this year following a series of high-profile murders by individuals released either under licence or early from prison.

They included the deaths of Mary Ann Leneghan and John Monckton.

Leneghan was abducted in May last year and subjected to hours of sexual assault and torture by six men including four who were on probation at the time.

The problem first came to national prominence following the 2004 murder of London financier Monckton who was stabbed to death in the hall of his Chelsea home by a man who had been released from prison early.

Prisoners released on licence can be returned to jail at any time to serve the remainder of their sentence.

REUTERS BDP KN1358