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	Nearly 1,000 Sex Offenders Living on Merseyside By Luke Traynor Liverpool Echo March 8, 2010 http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/03/08/nearly-1-000-sex-offenders-living-on-merseyside-100252-25983269/ NEARLY 1000 sex offenders live within Merseyside communities, new figures have revealed. And over a third of them are deemed very high or high risk, require regular monitoring and are likely to re-offend. A further 227 registered sex offenders are serving jail sentences, bringing the total on Merseyside to 1,138. The shock statistics, released by Merseyside Police Authority, show that 399 of them are deemed high-risk. Wirral and the north of Liverpool are the most prevalent areas for high-risk offenders with 323 and 373 of them in each area respectively. Knowsley is the lowest area for registered sex offenders with 63 living in the borough, and a further 14 in custody. They have no very high-risk offenders, compared with 22 living in Wirral and 20 in Liverpool north. There are currently 54 high-risk sex offenders living in Sefton, 30 high-risk in St Helens, and 59 high-risk in the south of Liverpool. The Sex Offenders Act 1997 requires all people convicted or cautioned for sexual offences to be registered, including offences of rape, indecent or sexual assault, sexual offences against children and possessing child pornography. Twelve months ago a visit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary identified a number of failings on Merseyside for dealing with sex offenders. Today police said new measures had been put in place including more training and monthly meetings to discuss the issue. Later this year a new police national database is set to help forces share information more readily, to keep a better track on offenders whereabouts and movements. Where paedophiles live while held on bail and after their release from jail has long been a sensitive subject. One Merseyside parent today expressed his anger that a former senior vicar jailed last month for downloading child porn was able to live close to a Wirral school and professional child minder. Paul Battersby, 60, was sentenced to eight months after he was caught with nearly 160 outlawed images, the second time he has been convicted. Dad-of-two Chris Watson told the ECHO the ex-Church of England reverend should not have been allowed to live with his sister on College Drive in Bebington. The criminal lawyer, 35, said: “He was living 200 yards from an infants school, and opposite a childminder who had four youngsters.” ‘Sarah’s Law’ was proposed after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by a convicted sex offender 10 years ago. The aim is to allow parents to find out if an offender is living in their area, a move which the youngster’s mum believes would have saved her daughter’s life. In January the Government announced they were considering rolling out a version of Sarah’s Law in parts of the UK with early pilots said to be ‘very encouraging.’ A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said: “Merseyside Police works in conjunction with prison and probation services as well as other partner agencies to ensure that sex offenders are carefully managed in line with strict procedures in order to prevent any risk to the public.”
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