§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are subject to the registration under the sex offender list 1997, as amended, solely for(a) offences that were decriminalised by the Sexual Offences Amendment list 2001 and (b) offences that the Government proposes to decriminalise or downgrade in its White Paper on Reform of Sexual Offences. [89660]
658W
§ Hilary BennAlthough the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 are commonly known as 'the register or sex offenders', there is, in fact, no central register from which this information could be obtained.
It is not possible to say how many individuals in the categories specified are subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (the register). This is because not all those convicted or cautioned for buggery or gross indecency at present will be required to register. A person becomes subject to the Act's requirements in a variety of circumstances following a conviction or a caution for buggery or gross indecency.
Whether offenders convicted of buggery and gross indecency must register Offence Offender under 20 Offender over 20 and victim/other party over 18 Offender over 20 and victim/other party under 18 Buggery Never Only where sentence longer than 30 months Always Gross indecency Never Only where sentence longer than 30 months Always Criminal statistics do not record the circumstances of the offence with a sufficient degree of detail to say for each offence how many individuals will be affected. Moreover, the requirements on some offenders who were cautioned or convicted on or since the implementation of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 will since have lapsed.