The number of sex offenders living in Devon and Cornwall is on the rise and has doubled over the last 13 years. There were 2,202 registered sex offenders living in the Devon and Cornwall police force area at the end of March 2024.
That works out as one for every 746 people aged 10 and over living in the area and is the highest on record. Compared to March 2023, the number of sex offenders rose by 8% from 2,032. The figures don’t include people in prison.
The number has almost doubled over the past 13 years, since the police force level figures were first published at the end of 2010/11. Back then, there were 1,166 registered sex offenders living here.
There were a total of 70,052 in England and Wales as a whole in the year to March 2024, up from 68,357 a year earlier. The figures released by the Ministry of Justice cover offenders managed by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) aimed at preventing further offences.
Sex offenders are required to notify the police of certain details, with further notification required if any of those details change (sometimes referred to as ‘being on the sex offenders register’). Some parts of the country have a higher proportion of sex offenders living there than elsewhere.
County Durham had a total of 1,123 sex offenders living in its police force area. That works out as 196 for every 100,000 people, or the equivalent of one for every 510 people aged 10 or above.
That’s the highest concentration of any police force area in the country. Gwent had a total of 991, which works out as one for every 532 people aged over 10.
Teesside has one for every 562 people aged over 10, while Lancashire has one for every 562 people. By contrast, Hertfordshire has one sex offender for every 1,266 people aged over 10 living in the area.
That’s the lowest ratio in the country. Surrey has the next lowest ratio, with one for every 1,266 people. London has one for every 1,099 people, while Thames Valley has one for every 1,064.