As mentioned on another topic I am due to start my licence period soon, and have a couple more questions about the visits I will receive from PPU.

Can these be at any time of day, like for instance 2am in the morning or do they normally occur within “working hours”?
What happens if I am not there during that time, do they come back, is it recorded that I am not there, or will they contact me on say my mobile to see where I am?

I don’t have any curfew times on my licence conditions, so I guess if I want to stay out all night I can, or will this cause issues?  Actually, let me explain that one a bit better, say I am visiting my sister and I don't leave till 1.30/2.00am, does this count as not being at my place of residence, as obviously I will have an agreed address with probation that I reside at....

Having never been through this process before, this site and community seems to be the only source of information for these queries. TIA

This is of course anecdotal but in my experience they tended to operate on slightly extended office hours. 

Earliest visit I had was maybe around 10am? Latest about 9pm. Don't think I ever had one of the weekend but might be wrong.

If you're not in then they'll just try again on a different day, if they can't get you a few times they'll give you a call to see what the situation is but they do understand that even though you may have restrictions you're still allowed a life. 

As for visiting your sister and leaving late at night, no, I can't see it being an issue in regards to that. But for the benefit of doubt, if you EVER have a feeling you aren't sure if it'll breach any rules etc. then reach out to the your PPU and ask, preferably by email so you have a papertrail. That way it keeps everyone updated and it also shows you're trying to be cooperative and transparent with things. 

Visits will likely be quite frequently to begin with but will taper off over time. For me I think it was about every 2 weeks or so at first but by the end it was like 6 months. 

Thanks Khafka

With regards to visits my PPU visits have always been during the day, the earliest I have had a visit is around 8:00AM and the latest about 3:00PM. I have had visits on both weekdays and weekends. I have never had an evening or night visit, in theory there are no restrictions when they can visit and you it always possible  PPU will decide to visit at an unsociable time.

With missed visits I have had phone calls when they have come to the door and don't find me there. They just politely ask if I am at home, I tell them I am not and they say they will come back another day. I have also had emails and texts to arrange visits with me on occasion, this is normally for when they have missed me. As visits are supposed to be a surprise this may not be normal for all PPU's.  A missed visit will always result in a further visit at a later time.

So you are aware they normally come in pairs, this is the police guideline. For me my Offender Manager will talk to me and ask me questions and the other officer checks my devices. I have though had one visit recently where my Offender Manager came on her own which did spook me a bit.

With regards to probation, visiting your Sister and not leaving until 1:30/2:00 should not constitute you not residing at your your licence address. This address is merely where you are living and sleeping. A late night shouldn't be a problem, however if you decided to sleep over it would be a problem. 

Also finally when you are on probation be aware that anything you tell your probation officer can be shared with your PPU, it also the same for anything you tell your PPU can be shared with your probation officer.

One other thing to consider when staying at your sisters, the notification requirements expect you to register any address you reside at for more than 7 days in a 12 month period.
You can stay there over night for 6 nights, on the 7th you must register with in 3 days.

If you are simply just visiting for only a few hours (lets say 8 hours) no matter the time of day you are still just visiting. If you are there 12 hours or more then some PPU might consider that an over night stay. There really is very little guides on what the facts are on this, but that is generally the way I interpret the notification requirements

If your sister is fine with you giving PPU her address for the notification requirements, you can stay there as long and as how often you like. PPU will only visit there if they can not visit you at home 

All useful info, thanks.  I guess that is the question when does visiting become residing, is it only if you sleep at the particular address??

My SHPO had a clause saying they could only examine my devices between 6 AM and 10 PM. The PPU told me they did not work past 10 PM anyway and all their visits were during the day.

I was always told that the interpretation is as long as you return home to sleep then you are residing at that property, however if there are going to be a lot of late stop outs it might be an idea just to confirm with your probation officer that the understanding is correct. 

Mine doesn't have that clause it has a clause that it can be inspected at any time on demand by any police officer or police employee. When I was registering a new laptop the other week I just wrote down the details and took it to the police station and they wouldn't register without inspecting the laptop first, when I questioned this with my offender manager I was told it was correct as it is in my SHPO that a police employee can ask to inspect my device at any time including at registration.

The standard licence conditions include this:

"reside permanently at an address approved by the supervising officer and obtain the prior permission of the supervising officer for any stay of one or more nights at a different address"

So, if you stay overnight, you need to notify your probation officer in advance, rather than afterwards. If your sister has children (under-18s) living at her address, that would complicate the situation.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)