Hundreds of sex offenders may have changed their names
MORE than 900 sex offenders have disappeared from the police radar after changing their names and not informing officers, figures suggest.
In England and Wales, 1,349 sex offenders had told authorities they had changed their name by deed poll since committing their offences, according to figures obtained by the Safeguarding Alliance from 43 police forces.
In addition, 913 offenders are no longer on the radar of the authorities, data from 16 police forces showed. It is feared that these convicted criminals may have changed their names without informing the police, contravening their legal obligation to do so.
Emily Konstantas, from the Safeguarding Alliance, told Sky News: “When we first started looking into this, we couldn’t quite believe it. This is a flaw in the current legal system and it’s a flaw that’s going to be exploited.”
Campaigners have warned that although it is illegal for people on the sex offenders’ register to change their name and not inform authorities, this is not a strong enough deterrent to stop criminals from doing so. Changing one’s name by deed poll can take as little as 15 minutes and the practice is allegedly common among sex offenders as it becomes harder for their criminal history to be discovered.
Ms Konstantas added that when sex offenders change their name they are able to essentially “erase their past”, because they can obtain a new passport and a new driving licence, allowing them to go “under the radar of all of the authorities”.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which is responsible for conducting background checks on potential employees, has said it does not perform any background checks concerning applicants changing their name by deed poll.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are determined to prevent serious criminals from hiding their pasts and will not tolerate sex offenders trying to evade the justice system. Sex offenders who fail to tell police of a name change already face tough prison sentences.
“We are working with the courts and DBS to ensure measures are strengthened… in order to protect the public.”