Part 10: Management of offenders Chapter 3: Management of sex offenders Section 174: Standard of proof
This section amends sections 103A(3) and 122A(6) of the 2003 Act to provide that the court when considering an application for a SHPO and SRO respectively should apply the civil standard of proof (‘balance of probabilities’), rather than the criminal standard of proof, when determining whether the individual the application is made in respect of has done the act of a sexual nature specified in the application. This amendment brings these orders in line with other civil orders, for example Domestic Abuse Protection Orders as introduced by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.