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<p>In accordance with the sentence of the Court, Joseph McCann was released on 15
February 2019, after he had completed half (less time spent on remand) of a three-year
determinate sentence for burglary imposed on 25 January 2018. On release, he was supervised
by the National Probation Service (NPS)</p><p> </p><p>When charged with that offence
and remanded into custody on 21 August 2017, he was being supervised on licence by
the NPS as part of the sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) which
he received on 26 September 2008. An offender on an IPP licence is not recalled automatically
when he is charged with a further offence or offences. The probation officer will
consider whether the alleged further offences, prior offending and the offender’s
current behaviour show that his risk has escalated to the point where he needs to
be recalled to protect the public. The decision on whether to recall an offender is
to be based on a robust assessment of risk and to reflect the professional judgment
of a trained probation officer.</p><p> </p><p>The NPS has undertaken an urgent review
to establish why Mr McCann was not recalled to custody, either when remanded into
custody on 21 August 2017 or when he was sentenced on <ins class="ministerial">25
January 2018</ins> <del class="ministerial">15 February 2018</del>. Mr McCann has
now been charged with a number of very serious offences committed on or after 21 April
this year. This has triggered a mandatory serious further offence (SFO) review, under
the Probation SFO Review Procedures. The SFO review will consider in greater depth
than has thus far been possible, including by interviewing relevant members of staff,
the question of whether Mr McCann should have been recalled to custody when charged
with and subsequently convicted of the burglary offence. Typically, an SFO review
is completed within three months of an offender being charged with an SFO.</p><p>
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