GETTY Ministry of Justice is considering proposals to massively increase the use of chemical castration

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The Daily Express has learnt that Justice Minister Phillip Lee asked officials to look at ways of increasing the use of the medical treatment to stop sexual urges because international evidence suggests it is the best way to stop reoffending. It is understood that Dr Lee, a practising GP, has said that there needs to be “an evidence-based approach” to making offenders safe enough to release in society. The work by officials has come in the wake of the John Worboys scandal after the High Court overturned a decision by the parole board to release the former taxi driver and convicted rapist. Last month the Daily Express revealed that there are more than 1,000 other serious sex offenders who, like Worboys, were on indeterminate sentences and will be considered for parole in the coming months.

Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament Minister Phillip Lee asked officials about ways of increasing use of the medical treatment

Dr Lee knows this is controversial but the medication is voluntary although it can be linked to an increased chance of getting parole A departmental source

There are fears within the MoJ that if these offenders cannot be released then the prison service will not have the space to accommodate them all because of the need for releasing criminals to make up room for people who have been freshly convicted. However, the Worboys case highlighted concerns that rapists and other sex offenders could be released even though they may still pose a threat to the community. There was also anger that victims were not consulted about Worboys’ potential release and were not asked about the conditions. It was revealed last year that chemical castration - the administration of regular medical treatment to suppress sexual urges - was introduced into six prisons last year.

Currently around 120 serious sexual offenders are understood to be on the treatment voluntarily but department officials have said that it could be increased more than tenfold to 1,500. Criminal psychiatrist Professor Don Grubin has been conducting the national chemical treatment programme, along with the prison service and the Department of Health. Chemical castration was originally introduced in the UK in 2007 by former Home Secretary John Reid and has had limited use since. It is understood that Dr Lee asked for a rollout of the programme to more offenders amid concerns that rehabilitation courses run by psychologists are not effective. It has already been revealed that the course Worboys was on has been discontinued because of doubts over its effectiveness. Last year a Prison Service spokesman said that two of the eight courses had been discontinued. International evidence has shown that the use of regular medication to suppress sexual urges is the most effective way to prevent reoffending reducing it to under five percent. In the past, MoJ figures have said that 10 percent of sex offenders who attended courses reoffended.

PA John Worboys case raises concerns convicts could be released even though they still pose a threat

Meanwhile, previous figures have said that the general rate of reoffending is 13 per cent for paedophiles and 19 percent for rapists but other figures suggest that recidivism can be as high as 40 percent. A departmental source said: “Dr Lee knows this is controversial but the medication is voluntary although it can be linked to an increased chance of getting parole. “There is a debate over the effectiveness of the courses but very little doubt that chemical castration works. “Essentially, libido suppressing medications in tandem with psychological therapies are more effective than what is generally being attempted currently.” The source added: “It’s particularly important with paedophiles because it is like a disease and destroys lives. “Often the victims themselves become abusers and it carried on spreading.” However, it is understood that for the chemical castration programme to be rolled out the department will need to find extra funding or divert it from other approaches. Evidence has come from the USA where Oklahoma this year looks set to become the seventh state to introduce widespread use of chemical castration. The treatment is also used in Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Australia.

GETTY STOCK Chemical castration is used in the USA, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Australia.

Other countries including Indonesia, South Korea and Poland have had forced use of chemical castration. The issue of tackling sex offence was highlighted earlier this year when official statistics revealed that the number of incidents last year was up 23 percent from 2016 to 138,045. In March 2015 there were around 50,000 registered sex offenders in the UK but that is now understood to be almost 70,000. One past advocate of the use of the treatment was the late psychologist Dr Ludwig Lowenstein. Arguing the case for it in 2015, he said: “Chemical castration requires a high degree of supervision. Offenders have to keep taking the pills to lower their libido. Nor is it a total cure: paedophiles' sexual behaviour is governed not only by hormones but also by ­fantasies so they will still be drawn to children. “The idea of giving sexual offenders a pill to destroy their ability to have intercourse always provokes fierce objections on the grounds of civil liberties. But a child's right to protection is far more morally important than the freedoms of paedophiles.” Nick Pearce from the Institute of Public Policy Research said: “It's not an alternative to therapeutic issues, but it takes out the urge that manifests itself in sexual violence. It takes away the thing that makes them violent because the testosterone is completely reduced. The evidence does show that repeat offending rate is low or zero. This is a voluntary treatment, it's not done as a populist punitive measure. The Danish justice system doesn't go for that. It's not an answer to sexual violence in society, it's a tiny number of cases.”

NC Andrew Rosindell - Conservative MP for Romford

FOR - Andrew Rosindell - Conservative MP for Romford We need to do what is necessary to make the public safe. Rapists and paedophiles cannot be released unless there is no chance they will offend. So controlled and monitored use of chemical castration through medication that kills off sexual urges has to be better than putting people on airy fairy courses. Policy needs to be less about the human rights of prisoners and more about public safety. While something like this would be voluntary it should be prioritised over other methods as it is far more effective. However, it should not be an alternative to punishment because these are heinous crimes. Instead it should be available when these dangerous criminals who have destroyed people’s lives are up for parole and used as a condition for parole. The Worboys case put this issue into the public domain. The big concern many of his victims had was he could reoffend and continue to be a danger. They were also angered that they had not been consulted. It is probable that if rapists, paedophiles and other sex offenders were undertaking treatment that prevented them reoffending then there would be far less fear and concern about them being released when they are up for parole. The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens and we need a justice system that does that.

NC Marilyn Hawes of Enough Abuse UK

AGAINST - Marilyn Hawes - Enough Abuse UK Marilyn Hawes set up the charity Enough Abuse UK in 2004 to prevent child sexual abuse. The former teacher discovered her three sons were sexually groomed and assaulted by another teacher who was a close family friend. She realised there were many signs she had either missed or not understood. She created training programmes to educate those with a duty of care over children on how to recognise abusers’ behaviour. She said: “Every time I hear of chemical castration I feel like banging my head against a brick wall. It’s just a knee jerk reaction to try a quick fix. “All the government is trying to do is put a plaster on the real problem as they are terrifi ed of the enormity of the situation coming out. They’d rather ignore it. Never mind the children, it’s all about budgets and fi ddling the statistics. Real solutions are hard and they cost time and money.