There are more registered sex offenders living in England and Wales than ever before – with the number almost doubling in just 13 years.
Shocking new figures show there were 70,052 registered sex offenders living in the country’s police force areas at the end of March 2024 – equivalent to one offender for every 763 people aged 10 and over. Compared to March 2023, the number of sex offenders in England and Wales has risen by 2.5%, from 68,357, and is now the highest on record.
The number has also risen by 85% since the police force level figures were first published at the end of 2010/11. Back then, there were 36,921 registered sex offenders living in Britain. The figures, released in a report by the Ministry of Justice cover offenders managed by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) aimed at preventing further offences.
Sex offenders are required to notify the police of certain details, with further notification required if any of those details change (sometimes referred to as ‘being on the sex offenders register’). Our interactive new map below shows which parts of the country have a higher proportion of sex offenders living there.
According to the Government data, County Durham had a total of 1,123 sex offenders living in its police force area. This works out as 196 for every 100,000 people, or the equivalent of one for every 510 people aged 10 or above – and the highest concentration of any police force area in the country.
Meanwhile, Gwent had a total of 991, which works out as one for every 532 people aged over 10, while Teesside has one for every 562 people aged over 10, while Lancashire has one for every 562 people. By contrast, Hertfordshire reports the lowest ratio in the country, with one sex offender for every 1,266 people aged over 10 living in the area.
Surrey has the next lowest ratio, with one for every 1,266 people. London has one for every 1,099 people, while Thames Valley has one for every 1,064.
The report, released on October 31, 2024, states: “Published numbers today show the MAPPA population on 31 March continues to increase yearly, with latest figures showing increases in all categories of offender and in all levels of management from the previous year.
“Historically, these increases have been driven mainly by increases in the number of persons convicted of sexual offences and subject to notification requirements. We have seen large increases in convictions for sexual offences in the last couple of years, and these, in addition to efforts to increase prosecutions of rape cases under the Rape Review Action Plan, are likely to feed through into an increasing number of Category 1 offenders under MAPPA in the future.
The Category 2 population saw an increase over the previous year. The increases in the number of Category 3 offenders over the last few years may reflect changes to the statutory MAPPA guidance to encourage practitioners to consider all domestic abuse cases for MAPPA Category 3 management.
“The Level 1 population continues to increase yearly, and latest figures also show increases in the number of offenders managed at both Level 2 and Level 3.The number of Serious Further Offence (SFO) charges against probation-managed eligible MAPPA offenders increased in the latest year, following a decrease to a decade low in the previous year.”
Category 1 offenders per 100,000 population – 2023/24
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