An investigation has discovered that police forces around the UK have no idea of the whereabouts of nearly 500 convicted sex offenders including rapists and paedophiles.
Sky News sent Freedom of Information requests to all of the UK's 45 police forces and they found that 485 sex offenders are currently unaccounted for. That figure is a 20 percent increase on figures from three years ago.
The actual total is likely to be higher too, as four forces reportedly did not respond to the requests.
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The Metropolitan Police, the biggest police force in the UK, said that the location of 227 registered sex offenders is currently unknown. This includes one offender who went missing 12 years ago in 2006.
In total, 38 offenders have been missing for more than eight years in London.
West Midlands Police had the second largest total with 46 sex offenders who are currently missing or wanted.
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Greater Manchester Police reported 19 offenders missing and 12 offenders are currently wanted in Scotland, although Police Scotland said that all 12 are not currently thought to be in the UK.
Sky News reports that nearly all of the forces asked refused to name the offenders and most said that this was because it would violate the Data Protection act.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland was one of the forces that didn't respond to the request.
These figures represent a 22 percent growth in the number of sex offenders whose location is unknown since March 2015 when there were 396.
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Alex Mayes, from the charity Victim Support said: "These figures will potentially be very alarming to victims of sexual offences and could undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.
"To ensure the safety and well-being of survivors of sexual offences, as well as local communities, it is vital that the police strictly monitor sex offenders."
At the last count in 2016/17 there were 55,286 registered sex offenders in England and Wales. A Home Office spokesperson said that the figure of 485 represents less than 1 percent of the total.
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The spokesperson said: "The UK has some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with registered sex offenders and we are committed to ensuring that the system is as robust as it can be.
"We have significantly strengthened the system of reporting that sex offenders are subject to, and a range of civil orders have given police more powers to manage their behaviour.
"When a registered sex offender goes missing, their details are recorded on national and international systems and the police will actively seek out further information and intelligence to locate them."
Featured Image Credit: PA