Police may keep track of just two in three sex offenders

almOST a third of sex offenders could see home visits by police and ongoing risk assessments dropped under a plan to prioritise the most dangerous criminals, police chiefs announced last night.

as officers battle to keep tabs on soaring numbers of sex offenders in the UK, they will cut back contact with up to 16,000 paedophiles and rapists deemed to pose the lowest risk – those who have not reoffended for three years.

Under the scheme, which was agreed by chief constables in January but made public only yesterday, many offenders will see their regular home visits and risk assessments dropped, and will only have to present themselves to a police station every year to update their address and personal circumstances.

The move, which has outraged campaigners, comes just months after the head of child protection at the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) said paedophiles who view indecent images should not be prosecuted unless they pose a physical threat to children.

Chief Constable Simon Bailey, of Norfolk Police, revealed that forces were strug-

‘Should be increasing child protection’

gling as the number of child abuse reports rocketed 80 per cent in the past three years, leading to police making 400 arrests a month over child pornography and 70,000 child abuse investigations a year.

Yesterday, Deputy Chief Constable michelle Skeer, the NPCC’s head of management of sexual and violent offenders, said police needed to prioritise resources on those at the highest risk of committing further offences as the number of criminals on the Sex Offenders Register continues to rise by around 3,500 every year.

She said: ‘These changes will enable us to more actively manage those offenders who pose the greatest risk to the public – a tailored approach rather than following a one-size-fits-all model.’

But critics warned relaxing the monitoring of offenders could put victims at risk.

Peter Saunders, chief executive of the National association For People abused in Childhood, said: ‘it is a matter of great regret – we should be increasing our protection to children, not scaling it back.’

an NSPCC spokesman said: ‘if police are to keep children safe they need to be effectively resourced so they can monitor offenders and prevent abuse.’