UK Home Office ‘Loses’ 322 Sex Offenders
By Matthew Moore and PA
The Telegraph
Police around the country have lost track of 322 convicted sex offenders, including rapists and paedophiles, it emerged today.
The revelation is a fresh blow to John Reid, the Home Secretary, whose department is already under fire for failing to carry out proper checks on thousands of British criminals convicted abroad, and for failing to enforce travel bans on 150 drug traffickers.
Many of the sex offenders managed to escape police monitoring by giving vague addresses to the Sex Offenders’ Register, according the News of the World.
The paper claims that one paedophile who breached register conditions was allowed to give his address as “woods” after moving from “a tent near Guilford leisure centre”.
The Metropolitan Police – Britain’s largest force – has lost 88 sex offenders it was supposed to be monitoring. West Midlands Police has lost 25 and in Greater Manchester the number stands at 18.
Police forces revealed the figures following requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Only two of the 50 forces across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland failed to provide figures – Dyfed Powys and Gwent, both in Wales.
All the police forces refused to give details about the sex offenders or how long they had been missing.
Sex offenders are supposed to be monitored by officials working under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, told the paper:
“Yet again we see a serious failure of government criminal justice databases to do their job.”
Michelle Elliott, founder and director of child protection charity Kidscape, said it was “unacceptable” that registered sex offenders could go missing.
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