Lincolnshire Police granted 72 sex offenders' requests to come off register

Sex offenders who have served prison sentences are usually placed on the register for life, meaning they need to register their details with police.

However, they can now apply to get their name removed after 15 years, following a Supreme Court decision.

A Freedom of Information request reveals that Lincolnshire Police received 82 applications between 2017 and 2021, and approved all but ten of them.

Decisions took into account how likely the person is to reoffend, based on information from probation and prison services, councils and mental health support.

All removals are signed off by a Detective Inspector and the Head of Protecting Vulnerable People.

Lincolnshire Police says their policies are in line with all forces around the country.

They have explained how decisions on whether or not to remove offenders from the register are taken.

“When a sex offender is given a period of imprisonment of 30 months or more, they are subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act for life. However, following the Supreme Court decision of R v F & Thompson in 2010, they can apply to their local police area for a review of their life tariff, 15 years after their notification following release from prison,” a spokesperson said.

“Each case is assessed individually in consultation with a number of agencies – probation, prison, mental health and the local authority – to see if they hold any information that would prevent the offender being removed from their legal obligations.

“Their police manager then completes the relevant paperwork which will include the current ARMS assessment, which is a structured assessment process to assess dynamic risk factors known to be associated with sexual re-offending, and protective factors known to be associated with reduced offending.

“It is intended to provide police and probation with information to plan the management of convicted sex offenders in the community. This is then reviewed by a Detective Inspector who comments on the suitability, before a final decision is made by the Head of Protecting Vulnerable People.

“Once the decision has been made, the offender is updated with the outcome and they will receive a letter in the post confirming the decision. This is the process adopted nationally.”