Commissioner of Police Eddie Yome and Detective Sergeant Alex Enriles from the RGP Public Protection Unit recently attended a conference on the “Multi Agency response to Sex Offender Management and Child Safeguarding,” held in Miami, USA.

The conference, which was hosted by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, followed an F&CO invitation that was extended to senior policing representatives of the UK’s Overseas Territories (OT), to discuss the issues and challenges faced in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children and vulnerable persons.

DS Enriles was invited to deliver a presentation on the challenges surrounding the monitoring of sex offenders in a jurisdiction such as Gibraltar, with a fluid border and large daily influx of travellers.

The RGP presentation briefed the OT policing delegates on how the Gibraltar multi-agency structure worked to investigate child abuse allegations, with an overview of the systems, policies and procedures in place, and the methods used to provide victim support to children, conduct specialist interviewing, special measures and therapy under the Gibraltar multi-agency approach. DS Enriles also briefed delegates on the system used for monitoring sex offenders in order to prevent recidivism. The RGP officers also participated in various themed workshops during the event.

Commenting on the event, Commissioner Yome expressed satisfaction with the excellent feedback received from OT policing representatives on the RGP presentation. He also highlighted that “the information already provided would be followed up with further contacts, with a view of assisting some of the OT’s to develop frameworks that would assist in the adaptation and implementation of the UK offender management model and legislation into small jurisdictions such as theirs, as has already been successfully achieved in Gibraltar”.