Hundreds of sex offenders are walking the streets of the West Midlands after being convicted of horrific crimes. Warped predators are required to join the sex offenders register so authorities can keep track of them while they’re in society.
The idea is cops will be able to keep track of their movements and ensure they don’t pose a danger to the public. Although, we revealed earlier this week how more than half of paedophiles dealt with by police in the West Midlands last year had committed similar offences before.
All those on the sex offenders register must register with the police within three days of their conviction or release from prison. They are required to go to their local police station and sign the register.
READ MORE: More than half of paedophiles caught in one year had previous for sick child sex crimes
Offenders are required to notify cops if they are living or staying with a person aged under 18 for 12 hours or more and of any intention to travel abroad. There are a total of 4,622 registered sex offenders in the West Midlands, according to latest figures.
All of these offenders have to keep in regular contact with police as part of the requirement of being on the register, and it’s the job of the authorities to keep track of them. How long they remain on the register depends on the severity of their crimes and the length of their sentence.
Sex beasts can remain on the register indefinitely, or from two to 10 years, after they are released from prison, if they received a custodial sentence at all. Last month, we revealed how the whereabouts of dozens of sex offenders were unknown to West Midlands Police after they slipped off the radar.
Sixty registered sex offenders were ‘missing’ as of the end of last year. The force pointed out this was a small proportion of the overall total of registered offender they have to keep tabs on.
BirminghamLive has also reported how around 300 paedophiles could now be living new lives abroad. The child abuse charity Stop it Now says on its website: “(Sex offenders) will be required to go to the police station on a regular basis in order to sign a document stating that you are still complying with SOR (sex offender register) regulations.
“If you have no fixed address, you will be required to go to the police station once a week. Failure to notify the police on any of the above or of any changes to any of the above is a criminal offence.”
