The Sex Offenders Register - How does it work?

As a tool for measuring risk to the public, the Sex Offenders Register alone is an imprecise guide.

The register contains the details of all those convicted of a crime in England and Wales under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act.

A predatory paedophile such as Roy Whiting, the murderer of Sarah Payne, would be on it, and so would a 16-year-old convicted of having sex with a child of 15. Someone who has merely received a caution - such as the Norfolk teacher, Paul Reeve - would also be placed on it. But, for the police, this is simply a basic building block of information.

Sex Offenders in your area - How many and how are they managed?

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Sex Offender Requirements

The requirements for sex offender registration has been tightened since the register was set up under the 1997 Sex Offenders Act.

Offenders must now register with the police within 72 hours of being convicted or cautioned. They must give their name, date of birth, home address and national insurance number - if applicable. Initial reporting to a police station has to be in person. The police may apply for anyone convicted of a sex offence abroad to be placed on the register. It may also be a condition of registration that an offender notify the police if he or she is intending to travel abroad.

Sliding scale

There is a sliding scale applied to offenders required to go on the register. Anyone getting a jail term of 30 months to life is subject to an indefinite term of registration - usually for the rest of their life. A sentence of six months to 30 months is accompanied by 10 years on the register. A sentence of under six months will require registration of up to seven years. That includes those cautioned or given a community rehabilitation order. For those under 18, the length of time on the register is usually half that of the adult term. Failure to register attracts a fine and or a jail sentence of up to five years. According to the Home Office, the compliance rate is around 97%.

What criticism is there of the register?

The civil liberties campaign group Liberty has expressed concern about the range of offences covered by the register. Anyone cautioned or convicted under the Sexual Offences Act can be placed on the register. This potentially includes underage teenagers engaged in consensual sex, as well as adults convicted for child abuse and rape. But Derek Green, the director of the child protection organisation RWA, opposes exempting people cautioned or convicted of certain sexual offences from being placed on the register. He says it is worth monitoring those cautioned for minor sexual offences in order to see whether they repeat their behaviour. The sex crimes consultant, who works with the police, said: "For example, if a young person cautioned for indecent exposure comes before the police or courts again while being monitored on the register, then there may well be an ongoing problem there."

Who gets told about the movements of sex offenders?

Head teachers, doctors, youth leaders, sports club managers and others, including landlords, are notified of the existence of a local sex offender on a confidential basis, but a system of general disclosure is unlikely to happen in Britain. Read More

How many Sex Offenders are missing?

In 2007 using the Freedom of Information Act, the UK News of the World Newspaper asked all 50 forces in England and Wales how many sex offenders were currently missing. They are required to inform police and probation officers of their addresses. The Metropolitan Police confirmed 88 offenders from London were missing, but a spokeswoman refused to say how long their whereabouts had been unknown or give any details of their crimes. She said the figure of 88 was low compared with the total number of registered sex offenders in the Metropolitan force area, but refused to say what that total was. She said police were taking "pro-active" steps to try to trace the missing offenders. The News of the World investigation also revealed West Midlands Police had lost 25 sex offenders and Greater Manchester 18. The Home Office said the sex offenders' register was a "powerful operational tool" which had a 97% compliance rate.

But according to the News of the World, registered sex offenders - including rapists and paedophiles - have used a loophole in the system allowing them to register vague addresses in order to disappear. Last year, one paedophile who breached register conditions was allowed to give his address as "woods" after moving from "a tent near Guildford leisure centre", the paper claimed.

New database - ViSOR

Thanks to a new intelligence database, called ViSOR, police forces have access to much more information which will give them a better chance of assessing the risk to society posed by an offender. ViSOR, which stands for Violent and Sex Offenders Register, tells police officers how many registered sex offenders are in their area and for what crimes they have been placed on the register. ViSOR will play a vital role nationally in keeping tabs on violent and sex offenders. It will mean that a body of information and intelligence on such offenders can be easily and swiftly logged on a UK-wide database for all police forces to share and have access to.

What do other countries do?

In the US, parents have access to pictures and details of all registered paedophiles. This right is known as "Megan's law", named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, who was found strangled near her New Jersey home six years ago. Her parents campaigned for the police to notify communities when paedophiles moved in.

Are your children safe on holiday?  Read the report from Australian reporter Danielle Teutsch.

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