Twenty four per cent of county’s sex offenders live in the local area

Rutherglen and Cambuslang continue to house 24 per cent of the county’s sex offenders - despite having 19 per cent of the population.

We can reveal the figures following a Freedom of Information request lodged with Police Scotland.

As of June 30 there were 24 registered sex offenders at liberty in Cambuslang, and the same number at liberty in Rutherglen. This means that the two towns have 48 of the 194 registered sex offenders living in South Lanarkshire.

At the end of June last year, there were 25 registered sex offenders currently at liberty in Rutherglen, and a further 22 in Cambuslang. And there were 173 living in South Lanarkshire - meaning the county has seen a rise of 12 per cent of sex offenders living in the area.

South Lanarkshire Council leader Eddie McAvoy said the authority had to house sex offenders in areas where they are not originally from:“The figures are disturbing but the council are under a legal obligation to house sex offenders. Once they are released from prison or from the court the council have got to house them somewhere - that is the legislation.

“There will be sex offenders from Rutherglen and Cambuslang who are housed in other areas of South Lanarkshire.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police Scotland works in partnership with a number of agencies through MAPPA to ensure that all Registered Sex Offenders are robustly managed within the community. Our priority as Police Scotland, working in partnership with other organisations involved in public protection, is public safety.”

Rutherglen MSP James Kelly said: “This is always an issue of significant concern for local residents and these figures again demonstrate the need for authorities to be vigilant and ensure public safety is a clear priority. There are various agencies involved with cases like this, including the police and NHS, and they all must ensure proper and stringent supervision procedures are in place to monitor each case.”