The way sex offenders are managed in the community is to be reviewed for the first time, it has been announced.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and the Care Inspectorate are to look at how well the public is protected by the current arrangements for assessing and managing such criminals.

Existing multi agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) allow the police, local councils, the prison service and health boards to jointly assess and manage risk posed by both sex offenders who have been released from jail and those who have been given a non-custodial sentence.

At the moment there are about 3,500 sex offenders who are managed in the community, with a further 1,000 behind bars.

Annette Bruton, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: "Where a sex offender is on licence or being supervised, there is, rightly, intense public interest in what is happening.

"The public rightly expects to be protected from risk and wants to know that all the agencies are working properly together.

"A large number of offenders are managed through these multi-agency arrangements but, fortunately, the number of serious incidents is relatively low.

"If things do go wrong, the Care Inspectorate plays an important role in making sure local authorities and their partners learn the right lessons.

"Now is a good time to examine how well the arrangements are working, to ensure that the correct processes are being followed and that lessons are learned if things go wrong.

"We are now working with partners to develop a detailed methodology for this review and fieldwork is expected to begin in April."

The MAPPA arrangements were brought in after the Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act of 2005 introduced a statutory duty for local authorities, the police, prisons and health boards to establish joint arrangements for assessing and monitoring the risk posed by sex offenders

Derek Penman, HM Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said: "The MAPPA have been in place for seven years and it is timely that they are to be reviewed.

"We will scrutinise them to ensure our local communities are safer as a result of them being in place and that the risk posed by sex offenders is being managed appropriately."

He added: "The outcome of this review with the Care Inspectorate will be the identification of good practice and potential areas for improvement.

"We will examine adherence by all authorities to the relevant guidance and discharge of their statutory duties".

The work is expected to take a year, with Mr Penman stating: "When the review is completed, we will publish a report along with any appropriate recommendations."