NEARLY 1,000 sex offenders are being monitored in Notts, new figures reveal.
They show there are 99 sex offenders per 100,000 people in Notts – the highest rate in the East Midlands – with Derbyshire at 94 and Leicestershire at 74
Numbers are recorded and published as part of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) involving police, probation service and councils.
The idea is that they work together to monitor dangerous criminals after their release from prison. The Notts total of 958, released yesterday, means the authorities are having to keep tabs on 70 more sex offenders than they were a year ago.
Detective Inspector Ian Williams said: "The increase is reflective across the country. When someone gets a conviction for a relevant sex offence, quite a large number are on the register for life, so that number will never go down. I would say people need to be less worried by the rise, because it means these people will be monitored.
"It's actually an improving safety picture rather than the reverse."
It was not clear why some areas had more registered sex offenders than others, he said.
Figures for the 12 months to March 31 also show 327 violent offenders are being monitored under the system in Notts – down from 380 the year before.
During the year, two sex offenders being monitored in Notts were convicted of a serious new crime, according to the figures.
Det Insp Williams added: "There is no such thing as no risk. We've got a situation where, unless someone is locked up forever, it's about reducing risk to the absolute minimum."
In August William McDonald, 55, was given an indeterminate prison term after he sexually assaulted a boy under 10 in Nottingham.
McDonald, who was living at the London Road Project hostel, was being monitored by Notts Police.
Depending on the level of risk, officers plan regular visits to offenders, who also have to notify the authorities if they are travelling to certain locations or going abroad. Sex offenders must also give their fingerprints and have their pictures taken every year.
Olwen Edwards, of Victim Support in Notts said: "The responsible authorities have to be accountable. It would appear that MAPPA does provide that.
"I would rather have it than not. They are keeping an eye on some dangerous individuals.''
Jane Geraghty, of Notts Probation Trust and chairman of Notts MAPPA strategic management board, said: "While we can never completely eliminate risk of harm, working with our partners enables offenders to be effectively supervised through sharing information."