NEARLY half of all the sexual offenders serving time at Littlehey Prison in Perry do not accept responsibility for their behaviour or refuse to be treated. The Hunts Post has seen figures that show of the 575 sexual offenders at the prison, 252 are not ge

NEARLY half of all the sexual offenders serving time at Littlehey Prison in Perry do not accept responsibility for their behaviour or refuse to be treated.

The Hunts Post has seen figures that show of the 575 sexual offenders at the prison, 252 are not getting treatment or taking steps for rehabilitation.

The category C prison, where 75 per cent of the prison population are sex offenders, is recognised as one of the best prisons in the country for rehabilitating inmates.

The prison, under governor Danny Spencer, has won awards for its work and the systems it devised to help with rehabilitation have been rolled out to other prisons.

And in January last year the Independent Monitoring Board appointed by the Home Secretary praised the prison for developing the only action plan in the UK to reduce the number of male offenders declining to complete sex offending treatment.

However, even with its expertise, Littleheys' figures show a large number of offenders are turning their backs on the programmes on offer.

The Prison Service, which at first denied the figures were true, would not confirm if the scenario was similar to other prisons, saying it would only release the figures under the Freedom of Information Act.

A Prison Service spokesman added: "In order to reduce their risk through treatment, offenders have to be prepared to talk about their offences so target areas related to risk can be identified.

"If someone refuses to speak about their offence(s) it is not possible to engage with their offending behaviour in a constructive way.

"Prison staff work hard to encourage offenders to address or change their behaviour but some offenders simply refuse."

Littlehey's psychology team is devising a strategy to engage prisoners in behaviour programmes.

According to documents seen by The Hunts Post, the strategy could include:

- Creating a prison wing for prisoners who are taking part in the programmes

- Giving uniformed staff motivational interviewing training

- Introducing programme mentors

The prison is also considering transferring prisoners who have been at Littlehey for a number of years and refuse to engage in the programmes.

Mr Spencer was unavailable for interview.