Dangerous offenders were reported for breaching the terms of their release more than 60 times in Northern Ireland last year.
Sex attackers categorised at mid to high risk of committing further offences were suspected of breaking the conditions of court imposed sexual prevention orders on 19 occasions.
An additional 43 suspected breaches of probation terms were committed by violent category two and three offenders.
The 62 total reported breaches compares with 35 failures to comply to terms among all managed offenders in the previous year.
There are currently around 1,400 sexual or violent offenders, or individuals otherwise considered dangerous, being managed by Public Protection Arrangements Northern Ireland (PPANI), according to figures released in its annual report.
The police and probation board are among the statutory agencies which work together within the PPANI framework to manage offenders.
The report recorded 62 incidents when proceedings were initiated over suspected breaches of Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPO) or prison release licence terms. It does indicate if the breaches were ultimately upheld or the offender involved convicted of another offence.
Between April last year and March this year there were 24 offenders – 18 categorised as sexual and six violent - that required specialist management by Local Area Public Protection Panels (LAPPP).
At the launch of the PPANI report, PSNI superintendent Alister Wallace explained the developments in framework over the last year.
“The report highlights recent developments including the fact that from April 2010, convictions for domestic violence offences can result in risk management within PPANI arrangements,” he said.
“A social worker was appointed to the joint public protection team (PPT) in January 2011 and a memorandum of co-operation was agreed with faith and worship groups to ensure better co-operation and information sharing about sex offenders.
“These developments increase our ability to protect the public and more effectively manage offenders.”
Deputy Director of the Probation Board, Cheryl Lamont said: “The agencies that work together through these arrangements are committed to sharing information and working collaboratively to try and prevent people becoming victims of crime.
“We have worked throughout the year to protect people in all communities but we have much more to do. In the coming year there will be an emphasis on ensuring victim’s issues are given priority and that we will provide training and education to ensure children and vulnerable adults are better protected.”
The public protection arrangements also launched a newly designed website - www.publicprotectionni.com - aimed at improving communications between the agencies and members of the public.
PA