Violent and Sex Offender Register

(asked on 14th March 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of convicted sex offenders who were added to the sex offenders register for an indefinite period (a) applied and (b) were successful in their application to be removed from the register after 15 years.


Answered by
Sarah Dines Portrait
Sarah Dines
This question was answered on 21st March 2023

The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders. Offenders are required to notify certain personal details, such as their name, address, and bank details, to the police. This must be done annually and whenever their details change. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’.

Offenders subject to the requirements for life are only able to see a review after 15 years (8 years for juveniles) and must submit an application to the police who will take into account a range of factors, including information from other agencies. Removal is not automatic and offenders who continue to pose a risk will remain on the register and will do so for life if necessary.

Data on the number of offenders whose application was successful is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Multi-Agency Public Protection arrangements (MAPPA) annual report, which is available on Gov.UK. The most recent report showed that between April 2021 and March 2022, 387 offenders had their indefinite notification requirements were revoked. Data on the number of offenders who applied for a review is not collated centrally, but the number who had their notification requirements revoked in 2021/2 represents 0.57% of the overall cohort of 66,741 offenders.

We continue to work with the police and other agencies to ensure the right powers are available for them to tackle sexual offending and bring perpetrators to justice and have further strengthening the regime for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

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