December 18

December 18, 2006: Sex Offenders' Register Expands

Ministers have today changed the sex offenders' register so that it can include offenders convicted of a wider range of crimes with sexual motives. These sexually motivated offences will be added to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Anybody cautioned or convicted for committing these offences with a sexual motive could be required, at the discretion of the police and the courts, to comply with the register's strict rules for a minimum of 5 years. Crimes being added to the list are:

outraging public decency
theft
burglary with intent to steal, inflict grievous bodily harm or do unlawful damage
child abduction
harassment
sending prohibited articles by post
improper use of public electronic communications network

According to Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker, the change was needed so that courts and police can have all the tools they need to protect the public:

'The offences may not seem inherently sexual, but could have had a sexual motive. These changes are necessary to strengthen the monitoring and management of sex offenders.'

It is at the discretion of the police to apply to the courts for a Sexual Offence Prevention Order, which results in the offender being placed on the sex offenders register. This is normally done if police believe the person might commit another sex-related crime.

The expansion of the sex offenders' register followed a wide-ranging review of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and involved input from more than 130 legal and judicial experts and law enforcement officials. In addition to expanding the list of crimes tied to the register, Ministers have changed the status of some sex crimes.

There are certain sex offences - including rape, sexual assault and exposure - that automatically result in an offender being added to the register. The order now before Parliament adds three offences to this category:

inciting or causing child pornography
controlling a child in prostitution or pornography
arranging child prostitution or pornography

The changes will mean that anyone convicted of those crimes will automatically be added to the sex offenders' register, rather than leaving that decision to the discretion of police or the courts.

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