§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ensure that British citizens or residents, convicted of sexual offences by courts overseas, are included in sex offenders' registers when they are deported to, or return to, this country. [HL3285]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe most effective way of preventing a person who has committed a sexual offence in one country from committing one in another once he has been released is through exchange of information between police forces. This already takes place via Interpol. Where the behaviour of those convicted abroad of comparable offences to those in Part I of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 continues to give concern once they have returned to Great Britain, they will, from 1 December 1998, be liable for sex offender orders. These orders carry with them the requirement to register for the duration of the order, which is a minimum of five years.
As regards registration specifically, we are currently undertaking a review of the effectiveness of the registration provisions of the Sex Offenders Act. The position of those convicted abroad will be one of the areas to be considered as part of the review.