October 30, 2015 1.48 pm This story is over 106 months old

Number of registered sex offenders in Lincolnshire rockets by nearly a third

Significant rise: Government statistics have revealed that almost 700 registered sex offenders are currently living in Lincolnshire, a rise of over 30%.
Photo: The Lincolnite

Government statistics have revealed that almost 700 registered sex offenders are currently living in Lincolnshire, a rise of over 30%.

A report produced the Ministry of Justice has shown that there are 672 registered sex offenders in the county, compared with 511 four years ago.

Despite the increase, Lincolnshire has the fewest number of sex offenders in the East Midlands, with Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire both having over 1,000 on the register.

In total, there are just under 50,000 registered sex offenders nationwide, a rise of over 3,000 from last year and of nearly 20,000 from 2007.

These findings followed statistics earlier this year which revealed that seven registered sex offenders had gone missing in Lincolnshire.

Two offenders had been missing since 2006, two had been missing since 2009 and three people had been missing since 2014.

The names of the missing offenders were not disclosed by the force or the principle offence they were convicted of.

However, the force said that the number missing at the time of publication had been reduced to six.

A Ministry of Justice report said: “The increase in the number of Category 1 (Registered Sexual Offenders) is influenced by sentencing trends, in which the number of people convicted of sexual offences is increasing.

“Additionally, many sexual offenders are required to register for long periods of time, with some registering for life.

“This has a cumulative effect on the total number of offenders required to register at any one time.”

Head of Public Protection Unit at Lincolnshire Police, Detective Superintendent Richard Hatton, said: “The force has increased the number of staff we have working on these investigations, the outcome is more offenders being brought to the notice of the courts and being made subject to the notification requirements.

“We have increased the number of risk management officers in line with the increase of registered sex offenders. This means registered sex offenders and the risk they pose are managed effectively within our communities.”