Six sex offenders are ‘missing’ in Notts

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information request, which showed there were almost 400 ‘missing’ sex offenders nationally.

Notts Police said six registered sexual offenders were missing, including one since 2011, one since 2012, one since 2013 and three since 2014.

A spokesperson for Notts Police said: “Protecting the public from sexual and violent offenders is a key role for the police service.”

“A large proportion of the recorded wanted or missing sex offenders are, following investigation, either known or believed to be living abroad or have returned to their country of origin. When registered sexual offenders (RSO’s) are missing or wanted in the UK, all police forces are alerted. If they return to the UK, there are several processes in place to ensure that they are brought to the attention of police and arrested where appropriate.”

“The UK has some of the most effective tools in the world to manage RSO’s. While the reality is that the risks posed to the public by such individuals can never be completely eliminated, there is significant evidence that the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) successfully keeps them to a minimum.”

“The new Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPO) and Sexual Risk Orders (SRO) mean that, for the first time, we can safeguard children or vulnerable adults abroad as well as in the UK. Along with the Shengen information system (SIS II) these will significantly enhance the existing procedures and processes we have in place.”

The Press Association sent Freedom of Information requests to every police force in the UK to find out the number of missing registered sex offenders.

Forces which provided figures for February or early March said the information was “dynamic” and will change as arrests are made or new cases come to light through “proactive intelligence-led policing or routine visits to registered offenders.”

Every force that responded refused to name the missing sex offenders over fears of vigilante attacks or because the information was exempt under data protection laws.

Scotland Yard said the whereabouts of 167 registered sex offenders were unknown.

The longest period of time an offender had been missing was 14 years, the force said.