More than a dozen dangerous offenders in South Yorkshire returned to custody for breaking probation agreements
Police forces, probation services and other government agencies supervise and keep track of sex offenders, violent criminals and other dangerous individuals in communities across England and Wales through multi-agency public protection arrangements.
Data from the Ministry of Justice shows 2,512 people convicted of a serious offence were being managed under MAPPAs in the South Yorkshire Police area at the end of March this year – up from 2,418 the year before.
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Hide AdHowever, probation services across the country returned more criminals to custody after they breached their licence than in any year since 2009-10.
Some 1,037 offenders broke their probation agreement and were returned to custody, a 19 per cent rise on the year before and the fifth successive annual increase.
Of these, 16 were in South Yorkshire.
Michaela-Clare Addison, national sexual violence lead at charity Victim Support, said: "A crucial reason for having these licence conditions is to protect victims and the public – so it is seriously concerning to see them increasing year on year, leading to the highest number of breaches in over a decade.
"These figures must lead to action.”
Meanwhile, as of March, there was a record 68,357 people on the sex offender's register across England and Wales, including 1,806 in South Yorkshire.
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Hide AdThe number of sex offenders who have breached their notification requirements, which includes providing the relevant information for the sex offender register, rose by 25% from 1,905 in 2021-22 to 2,382 last year.
Of these, 21 were in South Yorkshire.