500 sex offenders

EDEL KENEALY

There are more than 500 registered sex offenders living in Lanarkshire, Police Scotland has revealed.

According to official statistics from the national force, there are 506 convicted offenders currently living in the region and a further 136 in custody or in hospital.

The Lanarkshire region has the second highest number of offenders living in its communities, second only to the Greater Glasgow area.

The city has 681 offenders living among the general population, while 235 are currently locked away.

Cops broke the country down into 13 regions to produce the figures, from the Highlands and Islands in the north to Dumfries and Galloway in the south.

Those areas with more than one prison tend to have the largest number of offenders in custody or hospital.

HMP Shotts and Carstairs hospital has contributed to the Lanarkshire data.

Figures, released at the end of last month, also show that cops have 14 wanted sex offenders with 14 believed to be out with the United Kingdom.

According to Police Scotland, “A Wanted Registered Sex Offender is defined as those who are subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and who have a live warrant in force.”

Someone will be placed on the sex offenders register if they are convicted, cautioned or jailed for a sexual offence since September 1997 when it was created.

Sex offenders are monitored and managed in the community depending on the level of risk they pose to the public under the MultiAgency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) which involve the police service, local authorities, the NHS, the Scottish Prison Service and other partners.

MAPPA states that the checks undertaken will depend on the offender but could include a physical check of the location of the house to verify its proximity to schools, nurseries,play parks, community centres and libraries.

South Lanarkshire Council says that it follows strict guidelines on how and where sex offenders are housed.

Chief social worker at the local authority Liam Purdie, said: “The management of sex offenders in the community is a particularly sensitive and complex area of work. Public safety is always the main priority in all cases.

“A number of measures can be put in place to manage offenders in the community and these are monitored by dedicated police officers and officials from partner organisations.”