Number of sex offenders in region at a record high

NEARLY 3,500 sex offenders live in West Midlands – and the number continues to rise.

New figures show there were 3,435 registered sex offenders living in the West Midlands police force area at the end of March 2019.

This is the equivalent of one sex offender for every 732 people aged ten and over.

The number of sex offenders per head in the area is a fifth higher than across England and Wales as a whole, which has one sex offender for every 869 people.

That is equal to a three per cent rise compared to March 2018.

It is also 52 per cent higher than at the end of 2010/11, when police force level figures began being published.

Back then there were 2,201 registered sex offenders living here – meaning numbers are now at a record high.

Parents have the right to ask the police for information related to convicted sex offenders under a ruling called Sarah’s Law – set up after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000.

The child sex offender disclosure scheme in England and Wales allows anyone to ask the police if someone with access to a child has a record for child sexual offences.

Police will reveal details confidentially to the person most able to protect the child (usually parents, carers or guardians) if they think it is in the child’s interests.

The law was developed in consultation with Sara Payne, whose daughter Sarah was murdered by a convicted paedophile.

The figures released by the Ministry of Justice cover offenders managed by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) aimed at preventing further offences.

Sex offenders are required to notify the police of certain details, with further notification required if any of those details change – sometimes referred to as “being on the sex offenders register”.

In 2018-19, two sex offenders being monitored in West Midlands were charged with a serious further offence, and three were convicted.

As well as this, 11 serious sex offenders were returned to prison for breaching their licence conditions.

Last year, 55 sex offenders in West Midlands were also cautioned or convicted of a breach of notification requirements.

More restrictive orders can also be imposed on sex offenders, such as Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs) and Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPOs) or notification orders.

There were 181 SHPOs and SOPOs imposed in the area in 2018-19, and four notification orders. However, one offender breached their SOPO last year.