Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012
We have introduced measures which will extend and strengthen the system of notification requirements placed on registered sex offenders.
Documents
Details
By virtue of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, the Home Office has introduced measures which will extend and strengthen the system of notification requirements placed on registered sex offenders (commonly referred to as the sex offenders’ register).
These new measures came into force on 13 August 2012 and require all offenders subject to the notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) to notify to the police:
- of all foreign travel (including travel outside of the UK of less than three days)
- weekly, where they are not registered as regularly residing or staying at one place (that is, where a registered sex offender has no sole or main residence and instead must notify the police of the place where he can regularly be found)
- where they are living in a household with a child under the age of 18
- of bank account and credit card details and notify information about their passports or other identity documents at each notification, tightening the rules so that sex offenders can no longer seek to avoid being on the register when they change their name
Guidance on Part Two of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has been updated to incporporate the above changes.
Background
The 2003 Act requires offenders on the sex offenders’ register to notify to their local police certain personal details and information, including (but not limited to) their name, address, date of birth and national insurance number. This is done initially (usually following release from custody), annually or whenever their details change.
The notification requirements form an invaluable tool to the authorities and provide a robust framework for managing relevant offenders in the community. Public protection is the priority for the government and the department works closely with the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that the right tools and powers are available for the authorities to tackle serious sexual crimes and to bring perpetrators to justice.
Each of the four additional requirements introduced by the new regulations was identified by practitioners and experts as a priority area where action is required to prevent relevant offenders from seeking to exploit gaps in the system.
Following a period of consultation, the department has carefully considered all of the comments made in response and on 5 March 2012 published a summary of responses and announced its intention to implement each of the four proposals.
The regulations were approved by the House of Commons on 19 June and by the House of Lords on 5 July and came into force on 13 August 2012.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 and Explanatory Notes are available on legislation.gov.uk.
Useful documents
- a regulatory impact assessment and equality impact assessment have been completed
- Sexual Offences Act 2003
- a summary of responses received to the consultation
Please email [email protected] if you have any queries relating to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.
Date: Fri Mar 02 16:23:39 GMT 2012
Regulatory and equality impact assessments for the new notification requirement measures for registered sex offenders.