Penile Plethysmograph Tests

HC Deb 19 July 1995 vol 263 cc1455-6W

Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (1) if he will list the Prison Service establishments at which the equipment is available for conducting penile plethysmograph tests; [32249]

(2) how many plethysmograph tests have been carried out in Prison Service establishments (a) during 1994 and (b) during 1995 to the latest convenient date; [32250]

(3) under what circumstances a prisoner not convicted of a sexual offence or with a spent conviction for such an offence may be made to take a penile plethysmograph test; on how many occasions this has occurred; and what right of appeal prisoners have against such decisions. [32248]

Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 19 July 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about Penile Plethysmograph (PPG) testing.PPG is one element in the comprehensive process of assessment which precedes the Sex Offender Treatment Programme. Prisoners who are believed to present a risk of future sex offending may be asked to participate in assessment so that appropriate treatment can be offered to them, but their participation is voluntary. No prisoners have been or would be forced to participate.Concern about the risk of future sex offending is normally based on the nature of the offence for which the offender is serving a prison sentence. This might be either a conviction for a sexual offence or for a murder which involved a sexual element. Previous convictions are also taken into account as these are known to be predictive of future sexual offending.During the financial year ending 31 March 1995, 103 prisoners took the PPG test. Of these, there were 10 prisoners who had not been convicted of a sex offence but who were thought to pose a risk of future sexual offending for other reasons.The following establishments have the equipment available for conducting PPG tests: Albany, Dartmoor, Full Sutton, Leyhill, Maidstone, Swinfen Hall, Wakefield, Wandsworth and Whitemoor.