I have to be honest and say, that I'm getting tired of coming on this forum, only to find out that it STILL hasn't been fixed. How much longer is it going to take and how many people have already given up and won't be coming back here again?

Does anyone know of any alternative online spaces, such as Reddit groups, where ex-offenders can go to talk?

Yeah, it's frustrating and annoying and now I barely use this site because of it. I just typed out a reply to this and it shit itself again.

Basically, short answer - I'm thinking of setting up a new forum for people to use until this one is fixed. I'm happy to do it and keep myself busy with it. Is this something folk on here would be interested in? It'll be the same idea as here, all anonymous discussions and whatnot.

Also, in regards in to Reddit. I only really follow 2 subreddits that would fit the bill, /r/sexoffendersupport and /r/sexoffendersupportuk. The UK one is super quiet and the other one is mostly Americans. Depending on your offence they might not be suitable.

I login daily to check activity but do not post anything because of the persistent errors which I agree are frustrating, equally frustrating that after all this time it still has not been fixed. Like I said in previous posts, I can only assume due to lock down those involved with the forum are either "working" from home or have been furloughed preventing access to fix the problem. Either that or Unlock are simply letting this platform die. If another alternative was made I would be interested in taking a look, just be careful with your PPU as I am sure they will always get the wrong idea.

I'd obviously run it by him but I can't see him having too many issues with it as long I can let him see nothing dodgy is going on with it, which I'd be more than happy to do. I have a pretty transparent relationship with him now after being "with him" for want of a better term, for over a year now so I think we both understand each other now.

So I post the question to here then; what would you want out of the forum? Just basically a carbon copy of this one or something a little bit different?

The main problem I'd see is that if you have a (normal) SHPO then you will have to provide access to all the data to your PPU on request - including that stored on the internet. Now, I'm pretty happy that Unlock would robustly defend giving such access without proper legal authorisation, but any data on a site run by monitored offender would be producible at the whim of the police with no court order required.

Hmm good point. I've mentioned before though that I have no idea what requirements I have as I've never received any paperwork.

As far as the general data, well it'd all be public anyway for the most part. Email addresses won't be required to sign up, there won't be any messaging service on it so what you post on the boards will be viewable by all so the police could look at it if they were really that concerned. But yeah, I get it. I'll give up on the idea now then.

If you have not been given any of the documentation telling you what your SHPO restrictions are, then who is to say one even exists? Have you considered a subject access request? Can you contact the solicitor who handled your case to confirm if one exists or not?
If all that fails perhaps try calling the courts for information?

Tried posting 6 times. THIS BLOODY FORUM!

I've been through that but nobody seems to be able to actually help.

The main issue I think stems from when I was initially charged I was given a bunch of restrictions which, when it came to sentencing my solicitor argued about them and how stupid and irrelevant half of them are. Such as not allowed to go to the shops between 9am and 6pm on a weekday or any time during the weekend because a child might be there. I'm sorry but that's fucking preposterous whichever way you look at it.

My official sentence which was described to me in court was:

  120 hrs Community Payback Order
  Take part in a rehabilitation program (Moving Forward, Making Changes)
  Subject to the notification requirements for 3 years

That's it. Those 3 things. Some say that restrictions are imposed within the notification requirements whereas some state restrictions are a separate entity themselves. Which is why you can read "John Doe has been given a sexual harm prevention order and is subject to the notification requirements".

Everyone I have asked from the police, to my solicitor, to my social worker all seem to give completely different answers.

So it would seem they are ultimately hiding the true facts from you to enforce control over you which I agree is complete BS. As far as I am concerned, if you have not been given the paper work to tell you what your SHPO is (if you even have one) then in my opinion you are not bound by any restrictions other than what the courts have set. Try contacting the courts, see if they can provide you with any information in to what (if any) restrictions you actually have.

Like I said in a previous post, the notification requirements function to give you the positive actions you must take to fall in line with those requirements. Such as, giving names, DOB, addresses ect ect
restrictions whether it be a SHPO or a SOPO can only include prohibitions that have a negative impact on you and should not include any positive action. Such as, giving information on devices
Ultimately either should not over lap the other or else its considered misuse. But of course since when do the police ever following the laws?

Yeah, honestly, I'm pretty much half way through my order. My community payback was completed last year, I'm waiting on COVID stuff being lifted so I can finish my rehab program and my notification requirements end on December 2022. Things have generally been fine so can't really be arsed rocking the boat now. I'm going to give up on the forum idea just for an easier life, to be honest. I could also chase up or my restrictions and stuff but knowing how long these things can take I'm wondering if it is even worth it. I imagine by the time I get a proper answer my order will be almost done. Hell, I'm still trying to get my stuff back and its been over 3 years now.

Was looking it up a little more and came across this website:
https://www.lawtonslaw.co.uk/resources/sexual-harm-prevention-order-an-overview/

It states a minimum a SHPO can last for is 5 years. That leaves me to believe if you were given 3 year community order, then you are technically not bound by SHPO restrictions.
As far as I am aware police can impose bail conditions but only if under investigation?

Personally I think you should fight it because its pretty obvious what the police are doing here, although I understand finding someone who can help is pretty much impossible.
You could try take this up with your local councilor / MP and have them forward complaints on your behalf. Given the news about the police lately, they can not be trusted and need to be held accountable.