Tensions between police training and practice for the risk assessment of registered sex offenders in England and Wales

In UK, police officers are specially trained to become Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) officers. MOSOVO officers risk assess Registered Sex Offenders during home visits. We aimed to examine the MOSOVO training and home visits, and determine whether there is an alignment between training and practice. Three police forces in UK participated. Firstly, the MOSOVO training course was observed at each force. Secondly, MOSOVO officers in each force recorded home visits over a two-week period; the authors randomly selected 12 recordings for analysis. Field notes and transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were developed: unspecialised trainers lead to distrust and disengagement; the training does not prepare officers for all types of home visit; tensions between standard police policies and MOSOVO role; police suspicion of RSOs influences home visit implementation. We provide recommendations to improve MOSOVO training and the home visit process.