500K names added to sex offenders database

new delhi — Names of over 500,000 sex offenders, who were convicted for crimes against women, have been added to a database which can been accessed by law enforcement agencies to help crack sex crimes across the country, officials said on Sunday.

The national registry of sex offenders, maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau, has a database of offenders convicted under charges of rape, gang rape, Posco and eve teasing.

“As or now, we have uploaded details of over 500,000 sex offenders,” a senior Home Ministry official said.

In the registry, details such as photos and IDs will, however, be accessible only to law enforcement agencies and will help them in tracking and investigating cases of sexual offences.

“The database includes name, address, photograph and fingerprint details for each entry but

there will be no compromise on privacy,” the official said.

The records are being sourced from the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), an ambitious programme of the Ministry of Home Affairs to maintain a database of crimes and criminals.

India is among few countries like the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Trinidad & Tobago, that maintain a sex offenders list, another official said.

The United States is the only country where the sex offender registry is available to the public.

According to the NCRB statistics, as many as 38,947 rape cases were registered in 2016, against 34,651 in 2015. Overall crimes against women rose from 3,29,243 in 2015 to 3,38,954 in 2016.

The NCRB reports on crimes in 2017 and 2018 are yet to be published. —