KembaraXtra - Legal Terms - Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO)

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) is a civil preventive order designed to protect the public from individuals who present a risk of committing serious sexual offences. It replaced the Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) in 2015.

An SHPO may be imposed where a court considers it necessary to protect:

• the public generally; or
• particular members of the public,

from the risk of serious sexual harm posed by an offender.

The order may be made:

• by the Crown Court when sentencing an offender for a sexual offence; or
• by a Magistrates’ Court on application in relation to a person previously convicted of a sexual offence whose subsequent behaviour indicates a continuing risk of reoffending.

One of the distinguishing features of an SHPO is its flexibility. The court may impose any prohibitions or positive requirements considered necessary to reduce the identified risk. Examples include restrictions on:

• contacting children;
• using the internet;
• travelling abroad;
• visiting specified places; or
• engaging in particular activities.

The order:

• must last for at least five years, although it may be indefinite; and
• remains a civil order, even though breach constitutes a criminal offence.

A person who breaches an SHPO commits a criminal offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.

The purpose of the SHPO is preventive rather than punitive: it seeks to manage future risk rather than punish past offending.