Violent Offender Orders
A guide to Violent Offender Orders
When the Government published Saving Lives, Reducing Harm, Protecting the Public: An Action Plan for Tackling Violence 2008–11 in February 2008, we made a commitment to do more to protect the public from violent offenders – in particular, those offenders who continue to pose a risk of serious violent harm to the public even after their release from prison or when their licence has ceased. In order to address this we, in conjunction with our colleagues in the Association of Chief Police Officers , developed Violent Offender Orders (VOOs) which will help the Police Service to manage that risk more effectively. Violent Offender Orders are a preventative measure. the police will be able to use them to place controls on violent offenders in circumstances where they could potentially pose the greatest danger to the public. The orders will be used in cases where the risk is judged to be most significant. This document presents guidance in on VOOs, what they are and how they can be used.
Title: A guide to Violent Offender Orders
Author: Home Office
Number of pages: 84
Date published: August 2009
Availability: Download full guidance 
PDF 1.17Mb
Some of the most violent offenders continue to pose a risk of serious harm to the public when they are no longer subject to statutory restrictions available under licence, a Hospital Order or a Supervision Order. The Violent Offender Order (VOO) provides the Police Service with a new tool to help manage that risk much more effectively. The VOO is a civil preventative order which can place restrictions on the offenders who continue to pose a risk of serious violent harm by prohibiting their access to certain places, premises, events or people to whom they pose the highest risk.
The VOO is a targeted risk management tool. In order to qualify for a VOO the offender must be 18 years of age or over and have been sentenced to 12 months or more of a custodial sentence or received a hospital order or a supervision order in respect of one of the following offences:
- manslaughter
- soliciting murder
- wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm
- malicious wounding
- attempting to commit murder or conspiracy to commit murder
- a relevant service offence (any offence under Section 70 of the Army Act 1955, Section 70 of the Air Force Act 1955, Section 42 of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 or Section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 of which the corresponding offence is one of the offences mentioned above)
Further, the VOO is only for those qualifying offenders (see above) who have acted in a way that it is necessary to make an order to protect the public from the risk of serious violent harm.
An application for a VOO must be made to the magistrates’ court. Applications can only be made by the Police Service. Where the court is satisfied that the criteria for the order are made out, the court may make an order which will place restrictions on that offender which the court considers necessary to protect the public from the risk of serious violent harm. The types of restrictions that can be imposed are ones restricting access to:
- specified places
- premises and events
- people.
Breach of a VOO is a criminal offence which may result in a fine or imprisonment for up to 5 years.
Getting a copy
Download A guide to Violent Offender Orders PDF 1.17Mb
Last update: Monday, August 03, 2009